Local communities are preparing to celebrate St David’s Day with a variety of events to raise funds for the 2016 National Eisteddfod held in Abergavenny this summer.

Three barn dances – twmpathau - will be held in different corners of the county with the first taking place at Penallt’s Pelham Hall featuring local Welsh dancers Gwerinwyr Gwent at 7.30pm on Saturday (February 27. Tickets cost £10 (£5 for children) and are available from Robin Davies (01594 563172), Cindy Holton (07769 155830) or on the door if available.

On the same evening Murphy’s Law perform at Usk’s Memorial Hall for an evening of Welsh folk music, dancing and songs starting at 7pm. Tickets are £7 for adults, £5 for children and £20 for families and may be purchased from Meirion at 72 Maryport Street or the Green Flute Café.

Abergavenny’s Welsh-medium school, Ysgol Gymraeg Y Fenni, hosts its annual twmpath on Thursday March 3 from 6pm at the town’s market hall. Featuring a local band, performances by the school’s pupils and hot food stalls as well as Welsh crafts and produce, entry is by ticket, available from the school, Abergavenny Museum, the council’s one stop shop and the Expresso Bar within the market. Prices are £6 for adults, £3 for children and £15 for a family.

On St David’s Day itself, local performers The Singing Club will hold an open rehearsal at Usk’s Sessions House with an invite to sing along to well-known Welsh songs and to learn Mae hen wlad fy nhadau – the Welsh National Anthem. Celebrations start at 7.30pm and include cawl, bread and a bar - entry is free.

Usk also hosts a St David’s Day musical coffee morning on Wednesday March 2 from 9.15am to 11am in the town’s school hall. Pupils will perform and coffee and cake will be available. Everyone is welcome to attend.

That evening, Abergavenny’s Melville Theatre offers a poetry reading starting at 7.30pm. A Nest of Poets/Nyth o Ffeirdd will introduce William Ayot, Ann Drysdale, Paul Groves and Christopher Meredith and tickets at £10 for adults and £5 for children may be booked by calling the Melville Centre on 01873 853167.

In addition, schools across Monmouthshire will celebrate St David’s Day with eisteddfodau, dressing in traditional Welsh costume and participating in Welsh cultural activities. A special St David’s Day lunchtime menu will feature pork and leek sausage or a vegetarian option of homemade Glamorgan sausage, both served with cheesy leek mash, baked beans or spaghetti hoops with a Welsh cake and milkshake to follow.