Dornoch Music Festival will use this year’s event to support Mary’s Meals, giving festivalgoers the chance to help provide life changing school meals for children in some of the world’s poorest communities.

The festival returns to Meadows Park on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 July with 18 bands performing across two days, including headline appearances from The Hoosiers and The Tumbling Paddies.

Alongside the music, organisers are encouraging visitors to donate any unused festival tokens to Mary’s Meals as part of their commitment to supporting good causes.

Founded in Dalmally in 2002, Mary’s Meals now provides a daily school meal to more than three million children across 16 countries, helping young people gain an education while tackling hunger.

Festival founder Stuart Davidson said supporting children’s charities was a natural next step after last year’s fundraising efforts for local causes.

He said:

“From the beginning, we committed to giving back to the community.

“Last year we supported incredible local charities, Baby Archie and Mikeysline, and also helped to fund the installation of defibrillators in the local area.

“This year, we’re continuing that pledge by supporting organisations that directly help children, which makes Mary’s Meals a perfect fit.

“The festival is in large part thanks to its owner, Kenny Mackay, who also operates local businesses the Dornoch Butchers and the Coach House Bar & Restaurant.

“His family has lived in Dornoch for generations and it’s great to see them help to bring this incredible event to the local area.

“The festival operates a token based system, with each token worth £2.

“Tokens can be purchased throughout the day at various locations.

“As the festival ends, we encourage anyone with spare tokens to drop them into the charity bins located at the field exits.”

Mary’s Meals says just £19.15 is enough to feed a child for an entire school year.

The charity highlighted the story of 12 year old Grace from Zambia, who walks a long distance to school each day and says the promise of a meal is what encourages her to attend lessons and work towards her dream of becoming a teacher.

Claire Benjamin, Director of Development at Mary’s Meals UK, said:

“We are all incredibly excited to be involved in such a memorable weekend of music and fun.

“It’s shaping up to be a fantastic few days for music lovers of all ages!

“A massive thank you to Dornoch Music and Beer Festival for supporting Mary’s Meals.

“Every donation, no matter how small, makes a huge impact on the lives of hungry children across the world.

“It costs just 10p to feed a child with Mary’s Meals for a day, so your pennies really can make a big difference!”

The festival will also feature food vendors from across the UK, a wide selection of drinks and a packed programme of live entertainment, making it one of the Highlands’ biggest summer weekends.

For more information on Mary’s Meals, please visit www.marysmeals.org.uk

To buy tickets for the event, people can visit www.dornochbeerfestival.co.uk

Tickets range in price from £20 for a child’s day pass to £70 for an adult weekend pass, with children under three getting in for free.

The organisers have made the experience appealing to all ages and created a dedicated ‘family zone’ packed with activities.

This year it will include fair rides, face painting and even a Kung Fu workshop, to keep everyone entertained.