A GIANT piece of cheese will be set up in Scarborough as part of the weird and wonderful events for Coastival 2015.

Now added to the programme, The Rat Race will be a piece of interactive theatre, staged in Westborough on Saturday, February 14.

Performed by Frolicked Outdoor Puppet Theatre Company, participants will be invited to join the “rats” inside the cheese and perform tasks to see if they can escape the rat race and will be staged from noon to 2pm and then again from 3pm to 5pm.

The Rat Race is just one of more than 54 events, the majority of them free, which will feature during Coastival on February 13 and 14.

Aside from music, Coastival will also feature dance, theatre, talks, installations, visual arts, exhibitions and activities for children and young people.

Other highlights on the Saturday include the chance to learn to dance with Coastival Dance.

This will see sessions in Charleston, pop, salsa and hip hop/jazz, from 10am onwards at the Spa Promenade Bar.

Local favourites Raven will perform at the Crown Spa Hotel at 3pm and promise a fusion of rootsy folk, acapella, crunchy chords and sizzling salsa.

For those who love literature, Brian Oxberry will explain Charles Dickens’ local connections in a series of Dickens Talks at the Phoenix Court guest house at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.

A chance to combine a three-course lunch with the chance to meet Allan Mallinson, one of Britain’s foremost military historians, is on offer at Coastival’s literary lunch, from 1pm to 3pm, at the Crescent Hotel, with tickets £25.

For more of a spectacle, the Promenade Lumiere at 2.30pm and 4pm will see the Animated Objects Theatre Company bring giant puppets, animation, movement and music together at the Spa Theatre.

If you missed Orpheus at last year’s Coastival, there is the chance to see a film of the community performance at 6pm at the Spa Theatre.

More films – from silent classics to innovative shorts, global hits and local archives – will show from 4pm to 2am in the Spa Sun Court.

Sounds of our Surroundings sees Rob Mackay and Sam Eaton return to Coastival for an interactive installation in the Spa Regency Room, from 10am to 4pm.

Throughout the day, from 10am to 4pm, artists and photographers will also have their work on display at various open studios, exhibitions and installations.

For the full itinerary, see www.coastival.com

Rollercoastival will feature art and music workshops and story-telling sessions for children.

Coastival’s organisers, Scarborough-based arts development agency Create, say it is the unusual events that help make Coastival a unique arts festival.

Director Wendy Holroyd said: “Whilst this year’s Coastival is all about celebrating the past, bringing things like the Rat Race to Scarborough does help us to keep Coastival changing and moving forward.

“Once again, we have a very diverse range of attractions for people to enjoy at Coastival, from music, dance and theatre to puppets, dinner and Dickens – and lots in between!”

Tickets for events that need them are on sale now via the website at www.coastival.com where visitors can also find full details of the festival.

For more information and tickets, visit coastival.com