AN AFRICAN Caribbean style procession will make its way through Bournemouth town centre this month as part of the Bournemouth Masquerade Festival.

The festival, produced by Umoja Arts Network, will feature a carnival procession, live music and DJs, dance workshops and performances from 12pm to 5pm on Saturday.

The event was previously known as the Caribbean Carnival Roadshow. It has entertained the crowds in Winton, Swanage Carnival and Weymouth’s Cultural Olympiad event Moving Tides.

Natasha Player, Umoja Arts’ festival producer, said: “It’s wonderful to be able to programme an event which involves Bournemouth schools, some brilliant artists, and the local African Caribbean community to celebrate the rich cultural diversity in Bournemouth.”

Over 4,000 people came to watch and participate in the festival last year, held on the August bank holiday.

Three primary schools in Bournemouth have been working as part of the Heritage Lottery and Wave Arts Education funded Carnival Connexions programme leading up to the festival.

As part of their work, year five and six children and teachers from Kings Park, Malmesbury Park and Kingsleigh primary schools have been arranging dances and music and creating costumes, helped by design students from Arts University Bournemouth and designers Colin Spalding and David Brown.

The carnival procession begins at Alum Chine at noon, and then goes through the lower gardens and town centre, ending at the Triangle at 1.30pm.