THE wet weather failed to put a dampener on Easter-themed events held across Dorset this weekend.

A string of Easter egg hunts throughout the conurbation, as well as various fundraising activities and family fun events dominated the bank holiday period.

Families enjoyed fairground rides, face painting, ice creams and inflatables at a four-day Easter fayre in Poole Park.

The sun shone for the first day of the festival on Good Friday, which was organised by The Dolphin Marching Band to raise money for instruments and to attract new members.

Other attractions included performances by Team Rocket street dance group, sand art, and stalls from Blize Dog Rescue and Critter Creations.

Band master Chris Godber said the annual fayre was now in its ninth year and was the band's main fundraising event.

He added: "We are a self-supporting youth group, so we really rely on fundraising to help us get uniform, instruments, keep the minibus on the road."

There were also performances from the Wessex Majorettes, as well as a PDSA dog show on Sunday.

Mr Godber added: "It costs quite a lot to put on, so if we are rained off the next few days we will be lucky to break even. But we have good ones and bad ones, that's just how it goes.

"The kids enjoy it, I enjoy it, the band gets some performances and we get some new members."

The band celebrates its 20th anniversary this year - it was first formed in June 1996 - and is hoping to hold a big celebratory party later in the year, including a reunion of past band members.

On Sunday some 300 members of the Salvation Army from Boscombe, Winton and Poole marched, with brass band accompaniment, from the Pavilion Theatre along Westover Road and down into the Square before parading through the Gardens to the seafront.

There, in the open-air performance arena, they held their Easter service.

Hundreds of onlookers, buoyed by an unexpected burst of bright sunshine, lined the route of the 'United March of Witness' and many more packed Pier Approach to watch the service.

Meanwhile at Poole Hospital, staff from National Express donated 110 Easter eggs to the trust's children's ward.

And on Saturday Bournemouth’s Lower Gardens played host to the town’s annual duck race.

Hundreds of people turned out to watch the plastic ducks make their way down Bourne Stream as the mayor, Cllr John Adams, provided horse-racing style commentary.

Cllr Lawrence Williams, cabinet member for leisure and tourism, said all proceeds will go directly to the mayor’s charities.

“We always sell out of the ducks,” he said.

“It is an important event and brings the town together.”

In Christchurch an Easter-themed crafts workshop was held for children at Saxon Square Shopping Centre, while a family fun day was held in Boscombe Chine Gardens.

Easter egg hunts were hosted at Bovington Tank Museum, Lulworth Castle, Farmer Palmers, Corfe Castle, Upton Country Park and Poole Museum.