Party time at the festival (From Gazette Series)

Party time at the festival

HAVING joined forces with Kingshill House, which is celebrating its 300th anniversary, Dursley Town Festival opened on Sunday with a guided walk on Stinchcombe Hill and a summer garden party at Woodmancote Manor, followed on Tuesday by an evening ramble from the Old Spot pub.

On Wednesday a family picnic, with kites and cuddly toys, was held on Dursley recreation ground and Much Ado About Nothing was performed at Rednock School.

On Thursday there was a light-hearted talk about coughs, bugs and waterworks by Dursley and Cam Society and the second performance of Much Ado About Nothing.

This evening there will be entertainment in the Festival Marquee on Dursley recreation ground provided by Rednock School pupils presenting extracts from Grease, a concert by Good Company choir, a youth cabaret and escapologist Jann Nicholls. Events start at 7pm - tickets available from Inches, Parsonage Street and RP Jones, Long Street, and at the Rec subject to availability.

Tomorrow the major event of the Festival takes place. In Dursley town centre, there will be a street fair from 9am-2pm, including Punch and Judy, stilt walking, face painting and music.

Exhibitions are being staged in the United Reformed Church (Dursley Tabernacle) and Dursley Town Hall throughout the day and there will also be an introduction to practical spirituality at the Tabernacle at 2pm. Teas and lunches and an opportunity to climb the church tower are on offer at St James the Great Church, while teas and snacks will be available at the Methodist Church.

The Carnival procession starts from Boulton Lane at 1pm, with the newly crowned Rosebuds and will wind its way through the town (Parsonage Street) ending at the recreation ground at 2pm when there will be presentations to the Dursley Rosebuds.

Throughout the day, there will be a beer tent, fairground rides, tug-o-war and five-a-side competitions, and other attractions, on the recreation ground. Local bands will continue playing music into the evening. On Sunday, Cam Congregational Church presents a Littlecombe Praise Party, with music, barbecue and special guests, in the Festival Marquee at 10.30am.

A treasure hunt, with prizes, takes place at 11am from the Old Spot pub, with a cold buffet lunch.

The Festival concludes with live music at the Old Spot from 2pm-11pm, provided by the Macaroni Penguins and Future Unknown.