CRICKLADE is gearing up for its annual festival, taking place this Sunday, June 18, and is promising to pull out all the stops to celebrate a decade of festivals.

Staying true to its roots of providing free entertainment to the Cricklade community and promoting the town, the event continues to attract several thousand visitors from across North Wiltshire and beyond.

To honour its 10th year, the organisers have aimed for variety, taking the opportunity to bring back a few popular entertainers from previous years.

So, on the bill will be Graffiti Classics (making classical music wickedly funny), Fretless & Friends (local jazz greats) and A Dragon’s Tale Puppet Show. New to the Festival are Britain’s Got Talent finalist 2016, illusionist Christian Lee, comedy dance duo Stretch People, Lords of Strut (acrobatic comedy recently seen on TV as semi-finalists in this year’s Britain’s Got Talent), The Great Gatsby Show Girls (vintage glamour and dancing from the roaring twenties) The Cricklade Band Chippenham Morris Men.

Visitors will find more attractions on St Sampson’s Primary School field which this year will include Ninja Tots, Wiltshire Wildlife Fund, Medieval Longbows, Oak and Furrows Rescue Centre, Cricklade Country Market, Go-Karts, bouncy castles as well as the usual fairground attractions, music workshop sessions from Music Alive and Graffiti Classics.

Over the past 12 years, the festival has grown from a basic street fair (with a stage on the back of a flatbed trailer surrounded by hay bales) to a professional main stage, a street stage and an acoustic music marquee on the school field.

The Festival is always well supported by local pubs and businesses, plus street stalls and vendors, so there will be food, drink and shopping opportunities to suit all tastes, and pockets.

The festivities start with the traditional 11am parade (led by The Cricklade Band) and the fun comes to an end at 4pm.

Parking is on the Rugby Pitch on the entrance to Cricklade, and disabled parking is in St. Sampson’s school car park, both of which will be sign-posted.

  •  For more details, visit www.crickladefestival.com. 11am-4pm.