Briercliffe Festival a roaring success as hundreds dance the day away

Organisers promised visitors a day to remember in the lead up to the highly anticipated Queen Street recreation ground event...and they did not disappoint.

The inclement weather meant a last minute site switch around, but all planned attractions – bar a giant inflatable assault course – went ahead.

These included a float procession from the Hare and Hounds, led by Mayor of Burnley Coun. Mark Townsend, and his Mayoress Mrs Kerry Townsend, a fun fair, dog agility show, Lancashire's Strongest Man/Woman competition, various food and craft stalls, licensed beer tent, and a spellbinding performance by Jasper Cherry the magician.

Young dancers from Energize braved the weather, too, as they treated onlookers to a special routine.

Live music came courtesy of The Vibe, Dirty Suns and Leonie Smedley, a last minute replacement for Rakish Paddy. Meanwhile, DJs Kev Riley and Baz will keep crowds entertained well into the evening.

Briercliffe Festival was brought back in 2018, following a 10-year hiatus, by organisers Brad Pounder, Liam Kilbride and Ju Smith.

The first two events were huge community successes before the pandemic put a halt to proceedings last year.

Liam said that while this year's event was a "nightmare" to organise, it was worth it to see so many people enjoying themselves on the day.

"It actually went better than expected. The forecast was awful – 90% black clouds – but that didn't stop hundreds of people coming out. It wasn't as busy as in previous years, but it was still a fantastic day.

"I don't know whether it was in defiance of the weather, or because of the pandemic, but everybody there was just having a really good time.

"We would like to say a huge thank you to all the staff, volunteers, sponsors, the parish council, performers, and everybody who came along.

"We'll definitely be back next year...even bigger and even better."