Carnival gets into motion once more

This year’s fun day, which has been named the Carnival of Motion, will see the town centre turned into a lively and colourful spectacle with a parade and a packed day of entertainment planned.

The festivities will be based on the Spinning Gate car park on Gas Street and the procession will depart at 11am for a tour of the surrounding roads.

The Wigan Runner, Matthew Melling, will do his daily 5k run before getting the parade under way and guests for the day include CBeebies presenter and freestyle footballer John Farnworth.

This is the third year Leigh Carnival has been staged since a group of volunteers brought it back, with previous events celebrating colour and sound.

Organisers hope it will be bigger and better than ever, with the popular funfair booked in on Gas Street for the entire weekend.

Stewart McGarrie, one of the carnival organisers, said: “I’m hoping it’s going to be a beautiful sunny day and as many people turn up as last time and enjoy it as much.

“I think the carnival is very important for Leigh. It’s an old custom that used to be here all those years ago and lots of people reminisce about how it used to be in the good old days.

“We’re trying to bring some of that back. We’re creating the good new days.”

The carnival is on Sunday and the parade departs at 11am.

Activities then include traditional fixtures of a carnival such as Punch and Judy along with stalls and rides down Gas Street on a steam train.

The Eden Bus, a vehicle kitted out by the Church of England with facilities such as a climbing wall and a nail bar, will also be there.

The carnival site activities begin at noon.

To find out more visit www.facebook.com/LeighCarnival