OLDHAMERS turned out in force for a "spectacular" festival of fun at the weekend.

Festival Oldham, run by the council, took place in Parliament Square and Gallery Oldham Gardens on Saturday with crowds gathering for the variety of activities on display.

Street theatre and art, circus, dance, puppetry, live music and games entertained the audience.

Among the top attractions were space hero the Urban Astronaut by Highly Sprung Theatre and borough-based Brazilian percussion group Jubancana

The council was delighted by the reaction to the festival and to see residents having a great time in the town centre.

Cabinet member for education and skills at Oldham Council, Cllr Shaid Mushtaq, said: “Following what was and what continues to be a challenging time for Oldham as a result of the pandemic, it was great to see so many people enjoying Festival Oldham on Saturday and making the most of Oldham town centre’s restaurants and bars in the sunshine.

“Along with shoppers, I was wowed by the Urban Astronaut and Oldham’s very own Jubacana proved they are back in business with a bang.

“It was also lovely to see Oldham Theatre Workshop showcasing their new show children’s show ‘The Giggle’, which took place at Gallery Oldham, whilst Hickapees ‘Look Up’ performance raised the festival to new heights under the watchful eye of the Parliament Square Owls."

The council also took the opportunity to organise a coronavirus vaccination tent to help with the efforts to protect residents against Covid-19.

The local authority is also looking forward to Festival Oldham returning to the borough next year.

Cllr Mushtaq added: “To help with the Covid effort we had a pop up vaccination tent in the town centre which proved to be popular all day.

“It was a spectacular event, which I really enjoyed and hopefully everyone else who attended had a great time too.

"Bring on next year.”

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