Grab your crown of hops and raise a pint of Shepherd Neame beer as the Hop Festival returns.

The Faversham beer festival will see thousands flock to the market town for a weekend of local booze, live bands and street food stalls.

The free festival, which has been running for 33 years, will return on Saturday, September 2 and Sunday, September 3.

The town’s brewery, Shepherd Neame, is yet again playing a significant role in this year’s festival.

The brewery, which was founded in 1698 and remains Britain’s oldest brewer, is sponsoring the main stage on Court Street located outside the Shepherd Neame bar.

The Old Brewery Store will also host the festival’s opening party on Friday, September 1 with ska and blues band P45.

The opening night festivities will be ticketed and can be booked online here.

The brewery is also offering guided tours, beer tastings and a selfie station throughout the weekend.

There will be four main outdoor stages in town, with bands such as Curb Pilots, Loose Change and Taking Care of Vegas set to perform.

The Market Place stage will host more traditional acts, such as the Pearly Kings and Queens, while the Preston Street stage will be home to newer artists and rock, punk and indie bands, including Disco Drug Store and Spinner.

Many pubs across the town, including The Sun Inn, The Phoenix Tavern, the Railway Hotel, the Market Inn and The Anchor, will also be putting on their own line-up of live music throughout the weekend.

There’s free entry at all pubs but, due to the large crowds, there is often a one-in, one-out system in place during busier times.

This year, Standard Quay, the town’s riverfront dining and shopping destination, is also getting involved with an outdoor stage, outdoor bar and food from vendors including pizza restaurant Papà Bianco.

For those visiting with children, there will be a funfair, juggling workshops, balloon animals and a festival parade on Sunday.

There will also be plenty of other things to see and do across the weekend, including Morris dancers, buskers, market stalls, street food, pop-up bars and a display of classic cars.

For those who want to make a weekend of it, the Abbey School on London Road will be transformed into the Hop Festival Village from Friday.

There will be overnight camping, luxury glamping tents and it’s also the main car park for the event.

Organisers have urged those who are now opting to drive to the festival due to train strikes to park at the Abbey School as they expect the town centre to be exceptionally busy with limited parking.

Parking costs £5 and can be booked in advance. There will be shuttle buses running to and from the school regularly throughout the weekend.