A COLOURFUL parade brought this year’s Arts by the Sea Festival to a close in spectacular fashion at the weekend.

On Saturday evening, the Circus Folly night carnival saw all manner of animals, circus runaways and curious creatures make their way along Old Christchurch Road courtesy of carnival creators, Shademakers.

The parade, which set off at 7pm from the Lansdowne, featured tigers, horses, undersea beings and creatures take to the streets of Bournemouth which were lined by crowds.

Participants donned an array of eye-catching costumes including huge gold wings and head dresses while drummers wearing red and black kept the beat as they pounded their way towards the town centre.

The parade featured a number of youth groups including Avonbourne Trust, the 22nd Bournemouth Girl Guides, African arts organisation Umoja, Bournemouth University and the Arts University Bournemouth.

Roxy Robinson, creative director of Arts by the Sea Festival, said: “Numbers really snowballed as it went on as people hear this almighty cacophony and wonder what’s going on. There’s something about a carnival procession that attracts people from all walks of life and you see people get into the groove.”

Earlier in the day, the Circus Folly Fair kept families entertained at Horseshoe Common despite the wet weather.

More than 1000,000 people attended the eighth annual Arts by the Sea Festival with organisers recording their highest numbers in the event’s history.

This year’s festival came to life on Saturday, September 29, when it opened with a 3D projection mapping show, Silicon Shores, at Bournemouth town hall, created by The Colour Project.

The digital spectacular featured design contributions from pupils at Glenmoor and Winton Academy with festival-goers treated to a 10-minute audiovisual experience featuring everything from robotic sea creatures to digital junkyards lurking in the ocean and a shapeshifting octopus.

Other attractions at the festival included A Taste Of Herbert’s Dream By Compagnie Des Quidams, Ghost Caribou By Thingumajig Theatre, Titan the robot and family rave, Big Fish Little Fish.

The theme for this year’s event was New Frontiers which aimed to explore the impact of the technological revolution with organisers set to reveal the theme for 2019 next week.