Pride of place for weekend festival

With a parade along the Promenade and a host of events at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool will be packed with colourful costumes and characters.

The Parade starts at 11am on Saturday at The Sandcastle Waterpark making its way along the Promenade towards North Pier.

It will then turn right into Church Street through the town centre, heading towards St. Johns Square in front of the Winter Gardens.

This is where the Parade will end and the opening ceremony for Blackpool Pride Festival will take place before the events begin inside the Winter Gardens.

There will be five stages of entertainment inside and outside the Winter Gardens including appearances by some of the former stars of pop group S Club Seven.

But Pride is far from the only big event.

In Kirkham hundreds of people are set to line the route through the two towns for the Saturday morning Club Day parade, which will be followed by fun and games at various venues – including the traditional funfair and the second KWCCFest family music festival at Kirkham and Wesham Cricket Club.

The parade will start at 9.30am at St Joseph’s Church, Wesham and will continue along Garstang Road North into Station Road towards Kirkham, turning left into Poulton Street, onto Preston Street and covering Freckleton Street, Old Row, Marsden Street, Stanley Street, Kirkgate, Marsden Street, Orders Lane, Fylde Street, Ward Street, Mellor Road, Station Road to the War Memorial at Wesham and then back to Kirkham.

Roads will be closed from 9am and the Club Day Committee has requested that all vehicles are removed from the route before 8am on Saturday.

Sunday is gala day in Thornton and Cleveleys with the 1940’s themed procession leaving King George’s Playing Fields at noon with family fun and a fairground at Jubilee Gardens.