This weekend marked the launch of the Cromer and Sheringham Arts Festival (COAST), with a literary lunch, ceilidh and arts workshops.

Now in its fifth year, the fortnight-long annual event aims to celebrate local talent and provide a forum for artists, writers and musicians to share their work with the public.

This year's theme is War and Peace, making the anniversary of the First World War, with events ranging from a poppy-painting competition to a talk on Cromer before the war.

Coast chairman Sally Wallace said she was looking forward to the performance by 1940s-style close harmony group the Honeybirds, who will be performing at the Sea Marge Hotel in Overstrand on Wednesday.

Other highlights include a reading by poet Jeanne Markham a short film competition, and visual art events ranging from an exhibition of a series of paintings of soldiers' heads by former Sheringham High School head of art David Cottrell, to a display of war-themed lightboxes by artist Anna-Lise Horsley.

COAST 2014, War and Peace, runs from until November 2.

Visit www.casaf.co.uk