THOUSANDS flocked to Whittlesey for their annual late summer festival with dozens of attractions on show ranging from face painting to ferrets and Lambrettas to line dancers.

Organisers estimate over 7,000 visitors turned up to the day long festival on Sunday that had events for all the family.

On the market place Peterborough Highland Band, puppeteers, Zumba dancers, Punch and Judy, Farcet Dance and Twirl and Park Lane School dancers were just part of the packed line up.

Across town St Mary’s hosted an array of events including bouncy castles, pony rides and jamming sessions whilst Childers opened for a craft fair, the leisure centre hosted a vintage flea market and the Falcon Hotel was home to the bonny baby competition.

And Whittlesey Christian Church also joined in with an all day exhibitions of arts and crafts by local youngsters.

Marija Lysak, on behalf of the Whittlesey Festival Organising Team, said: “The day was a resounding success and many visitors travelled from far afield.

“It was a great day out for everyone with a full programme of events and many different stalls and attractions creating a real buzz throughout the whole day.”

She said that with children able to free face painting, puppet shows and fairground rides amongst many other activities “they really were spoilt for choice. There was plenty to do for the adults and everyone enjoyed watching the various dance displays and musical presentations including the Peterborough Highland band. “

One highlight was the fly past by the Air Sea Rescue Sea King Helicopter which wowed the crowd.

Another popular attraction was the display of over 50 classic cars that lined one of the main streets.

“This really brought back memories for many people and present day enthusiasts alike” said Ms Lysak.

The Festival Schools Art Exhibition was held at the Whittlesey Christian Church with over 100 entries on display from local primary schools and Sir Harry Smith Community College. Prizes and trophies were awarded on the day of the Festival by the Mayor of Whittlesey, Councillor Mrs Kay Mayor.

Another popular competition that took place was the Beautiful Baby competition with the winner being awarded a complimentary portrait session courtesy of ‘The Studio’ in Whittlesey .

Ms Lysak said: “The event organisers would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their help and support in making this Whittlesey’s most successful festival to date and they all look forward to building on this success for next year.”

If you would like further information on how you can be involved in next year’s Festival please contact Pauline Edge on 01733 208414 or Jenny Parker on 01733 351005.