The six-piece band, founded by guitarists Jamie Fekete and Sam Slater, perform at Stocksfield Institute Community Association at 7.30pm on Saturday, courtesy of the Highlights Touring Scheme which takes music and theatre into rural areas.

Call 01661 842346 for ticket details.

The second of three Northern Chords events in the North East will take place at St Andrew's Church on Saturday 20 March.

The festival, in its second year and sponsored by law firm Watson Burton, was initiated by 21 year old cellist Jonathan Bloxham (pictured with violinist Nigulia Mirzayeva), originally from Gateshead. The concerts showcase top young classical musicians from around the world.

Organisers are looking for 500 people to help create the lights, which will stretch from one side of Britain to the other.

Artist's impression of the beacons lighting up Hadrian's Wall

Each of the volunteer "illuminators" will be part of a small team responsible for lighting one of the 500 individual points along the wall.

The Mid-Tyne Business Forum holds its inaugural event at Wark Sports Club on Wednesday, January 20 from 7.30pm.

The play will be at Stocksfield Institute on the 4th December at 6.30pm.

The cast includes NTC regulars Kim Evans and Gemma Clough and newcomers William Reay from Bellingham and Christopher Ranson.

Visit www.northumberlandtheatre.co.uk for a full list of performances and contact details for tickets.

There will be a village treasure-hunt style quiz for children, and entertainment in the market place will include The Sunshine Panners steel band on Saturday and the North Tyneside Pipe Band and dancers on Sunday.

The Wheatsheaf Hotel will also have a presence in the market place. With complementary mince pies and mulled wine, there will be opportunities to win prizes and have fun. There will also be cakes and biscuits on sale, raising money for Children in Need and the RNLI.

Shops are open from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and 11.30am to 4pm on Sunday.

Read The Journal's Christmas magazine online, featuring shopping ideas and details of seasonal events »

The festive tour is organised by Network Artists and takes place in twenty different venues in and near Northumberland, running on weekends until Christmas.

Art lovers will have the chance to look around at artists' work, often in beautiful surroundings, while enjoying a friendly seasonal welcome from the artists themselves.

Every weekend between now and Christmas, Ruth Lonsdale will be displaying art and handmade gifts for Christmas present seekers in the Vicar's Pele at Corbridge market place. The opening times for the event are 11am- 5pm.

View the Christmas Art Tour leaflet at www.networkartists.org.uk for full details about the tour.

Christmas poultry, trees and decorations will be available to buy as well as toys, crafts, confectionary and other gift ideas, and a food marquee will display produce from all of Brocksbushes' suppliers.

Extra catering facilities will provide snacks and beverages throughout the day.

As part of their monitoring programme at Riding Mill, the Environment Agency carries out fish counting and trapping, and even films the salmon or sea trout as they are returning to the river to spawn.

Visitors can have a guided tour of the Riding Mill site on the open days this coming Friday and Saturday. To book call Gemma Alecks on (0191) 203 4105 or email gemma.alecks@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Pippa Little, a former Biscuit Poetry Prize winner, will be signing her new book Foray, Border Reiver Women at Corbridge Tourist Information Centre and Library on Saturday from 2pm.

Foray is a collection of poems describing the often harrowing lives that women in the Scotland - England Border region endured in the 16th Century.

The Northumberland Theatre Company will perform its touring production of Whisky Galore at Newton and Whitley Chapel later this month - bringing a real treat to remote communities which don't often get the chance to see top-notch theatre on their doorstep.

The visit has been arranged through the Highlights initiative - a subsidised rural touring scheme which enables smaller venues to stage high-quality shows.

St Andrew's at Bywell - between Ovingham and Corbridge - will throw open its doors this weekend for the Birthday Song event, which will see 40 choirs performing in 40 of the most nationally significant churches in the country.

Together with pianist Simon Passmore at the Queen's Hall, Hexham, at 8pm she will present a programme in the Exchange Cafe, From Bach to Berio, which includes highlights of the oboe and piano repertoire from the Baroque and the Romantic to the new sound-worlds of James MacMillan and Luciano Berio.

Tickets are £6, concessions at £4 and £2.50 for students. Call (01434) 652 477.

Many of Northumberland's most historic buildings will be opened to the public, free of charge, next weekend as part of Heritage Open Days, a national initiative which is aimed at celebrating the country's heritage, history and culture.

In Northumberland, a wide range of buildings of all ages and styles will be open in a series of events. Among them are the Clock Tower in Morpeth, castles at Harbottle, Rothley and Dilston, the recently renovated Blyth Battery, the Ice House in Berwick and an ecological self-build house at Belford.

Residents of Stocksfield, which was recently voted North East Village of the Year in a competition run by Calor, were asked by the local parish council how they would like to improve community spirit even further.

And they voted overwhelmingly to restore a traditional village fete, which has not been held in the village for more than two decades.