UP and down the country, people (often with no particular connection to Scotland) gather to celebrate the birthday of Rabbie Burns – but Dorset has its own dialect poet, and this year the annual Tea with William Barnes on Sunday 22nd February coincides with what would have been Barnes’ 225th birthday.

For the past nine years, Dorset’s rural touring arts charity Artsreach and The Ridgeway Singers and Band have celebrated William Barnes with an afternoon of music, song, poetry and delicious Dorset food. This year the party is at the Exchange at Sturminster Newton, starting at 3pm.

Born in Bagber in 1801, William Barnes attended school in Sturminster Newton. A scholar, linguist, artist, priest and inventor, he wrote more than 800 poems in the Dorset dialect. He also relished the country dances, folksongs and carols of the county, and often wrote about them in his works.

Alongside a cream tea, The Ridgeway Singers and Band, led by Phil Humphries with Tim Laycock, folk musician, historian, actor and vice president of The William Barnes Society, will perform folksongs and dance tunes from across the county including One Night as I Lay on my Bed collected in 1906 by the Hammond brothers from George House of Beaminster, Away Dark Thoughts from Winterborne Monkton and, The New Rigged Ship and The Young May Moon from the Hardy family manuscripts.

This year’s programme also includes a musical setting of William Barnes’ poem Rustic Childhood. Recitals of some of Barnes’ much-loved poems will keep alive the rich dialect of Dorset in this wonderful celebration of the life of William Barnes.

Early booking is advised for this popular event, and tickets are available from The Exchange on 01258 475137 or online at www.artsreach.co.uk

Before the tea party, Artsreach and the Exchange are jointly hosting a pop-up producers and makers market, offering the chance to try some famous local produce or discover something new and made with love in Dorset! The market is open from 11am-3pm.