The event, at Calder Holmes Park from 12pm to 8pm tomorrow and Sunday, is billed as a celebration of the breadth and diversity of live music available in the north of England through the existence of different ethnic communities, including Celtic and Anglo-Saxon.

The festival is free and there is a main stage and an acoustic tent. The festival will continue with evening concerts at the Trades Club nearby.

The festival is run by volunteers and supported by grants, including money from the trades union movement and local councils.

It started with the World Cup in 2006 when the Trades Club showed every match on a big screen. Rather than deck the building with England flags, the flags of every nation were on display and at each game food of one of the nations involved – paella, spicey Brazilian kebabs etc – were served. After each match there was live music from one of the nations – African, South American, east European – and even an Iranian folk singer and a family of Roma fiddle players from the Ukraine, with all the musicians living within around 25 miles of Hebden Bridge.

Their music was brought to Britain thanks to the arrival of different groups of immigrants over decades and even centuries.

Festival organiser Dave Boardman said: "We decided this was worth celebrating. The theme of the festival is: difference and diversity are a cause for celebration, not conflict.

"We are here so that everyone can have a great time, but at the same time we can find out more about the communities that we live alongside."

Last year 2,000 people attended despite torrential rain and a favourable weather forecast could result in that number being doubled.

The festival will open with the Handmade Parade, a community-based project highlighting the creativity of the residents of Hebden Bridge, which will arrive in the park after a procession through the town. The main stage will host a huge number of different musical styles, including reggae, hip hop, indie rock, R 'n' B, blues and soul. Among the artists appearing are Hebden Bridge-based psychedelic rockers Widgykeff, the Gambian (via Leeds) kora maestro Seikou Susso, Manchester blues legend Victor Brox, the alt-country/country punk of the Liverpool-based Mojave Collective, local Moroccan trance band Maghribibeat and Don't Talk to Strangers, a major part of the Leeds hip hop scene.