More than 3,000 people soaked up the sun at the all-new Radlett Festival held last weekend.

The weekend of events kicked off on Saturday night with a spectacular lakeside concert in the grounds of Field House Farm attracting almost 1,000 people laden with picnics and drinks.

A professional jazz group, a mixed choir, The Purcell School of Music and the Borehamwood Brass band provided the evening's entertainment and an aerobatic display wowed the crowds.

Chair of the Radlett Festival committee Viv Charrett said the evening was a real success.

"It was fantastic and the bright sunshine really encouraged people to come out and enjoy the concert the atmosphere was wonderful," she said.

The festival's Grand Fair was held on Sunday at Phillimore Recreation Ground and bright sunshine greeted the crowds who arrived for a day of festivities.

Among the attractions at the event, dubbed "mini-Glastonbury", were a medieval re-enactment group, a novelty dog show, a tug of war and maypole dancing.

One of the organisers Jan Adams said the dog show was one of the most successful events of the weekend.

"It was quite incredible, about 40 dogs arrived ready to compete.

"It was brilliant, there were all sorts of dogs competing and the categories ranged from; dog with the waggiest tale, dog with the loudest bark and best behaved dog," she added.

The Hare Krishnas from Bhaktivedanta Manor in Aldenham helped organise the event and were in attendance throughout the day.

Mrs Adams said their help was invaluable: "They were fantastic and so generous. They performed a wonderful dance and gave away about 500 saris to people of all ages who wanted to take part in the sari demonstration."

Representing Radlett's flair for performing arts were Traffic Light Productions, The Victoria Hughes Dancing Group, Honky Tonks and Monkey Music.

As well as the abundance of entertainment on offer, visitors were able to browse more than 40 stalls which sold everything from bric a brac to Indian head massages.

"It was great to see the community come together like it did and the community spirit was evident throughout the weekend everyone really threw themselves into it.

"In fact it was so successful that we will be holding talks to discuss organising another one next year," said Ms Charrett.

This year's festival took over from the Radlett Carnival which attracted thousands of revellers each year before its demise in 2000. Money raised is to be put towards the Christ Church Hall Vision Project and towards improving youth facilities.