More than 3,000 attended Stowmarket’s annual music and comedy festival on Friday and Saturday.

The two-day event, which is a continuation of Stowmarket’s former festival StowFest, fell victim to heavy downpours late on Saturday afternoon, but organisers at Stowmarket Town Council have praised the guests for sticking it out to support the local bands.

The free event kicked off at the town’s Chilton Fields on Friday night, with comedian Lloyd Griffiths performing his Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Laugh Yourself Thin.

Taking to the Gipping Press Stage on Saturday were Pogues tribute Waxies Dargle, soul maestros Soul Survivors and party band East Coast Collective, while the Total Driving Stage saw acts such as eight-piece funk band Primo Nelson, rock band Little Red Kings and The Kubricks perform. New to StowFiesta this year was the John Peel Centre stage, which showcased the best of local talent in music.

There was also a range of free family events on offer, from bouncy castles to water zorbing and circus skills workshops.

The event also provided a platform for a number of local charities and organisations to boost their funds and their profiles.

Theatre and events manager at Stowmarket Town Council, David Marsh, said: “The thing that impressed me was how many people stayed while the heavens opened...it shows the strength of Stowmarket’s spirit.

“Last year we had absolutely perfect weather, we knew we were going to pay for it sometime and unfortunately that was this year.

“Everyone was absolutely fantastic and so many people were coming up and congratulating us on the event.

“I’m sure we would have had record breaking admissions on the Saturday had we had better weather.

“Despite the weather we still consider it very much a success.

“We had over 3,000 people on the Saturday, so all things considered it was brilliant and I’m absolutely looking forward to next year.

“Our thanks go particularly to our sponsors, the Stowmarket Mercury, Gipping Press and Total Driving. An event like this doesn’t happen without sponsors.”

He also added thanks to all Stowmarket Town Council staff and volunteers who went “above and beyond” their line of work to make StowFiesta 2015 a success.