The 60th anniversary of Radcliffe Carnival promises thousands of majorettes and a Dolly Parton tribute, among other exciting events and acts across the weekend.
Radcliffe Carnival is set to take place on Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14 at Redbank Field, M26 4PB.
There will be entertainment for children, donkeys, crafts, a licensed bar, hot food, a charity dog show, Morris dancing, a car boot sale and a funfair, among other events across the weekend.
The carnival celebrates a number of important anniversaries this year, and in addition to being the 60th year of the carnival, it is also the 100th year of the Oldham Scottish Pipe Band leading the parade.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Majorettes competition, and there is expected to be over 1,000 participants, according to committee member Karen Florence.
Karen, 53, has been on the carnival's committee for five years now.
The business owner grew up in Radcliffe and remembers going to the carnival when and taking part as a Morris dancer.
Karen said that because it is the diamond anniversary, there is a diamond theme for this year's parade and that the support has been "fantastic".
She said: "We’ve had a lot more support this year than all the other years.
"We’ve had amazing support this year from the sixteen sponsors.
"It’s not always about money, either. Times are hard, we can’t expect people to hand money over.
"But sometimes they might have an asset or something they can lend you, which then saves us money.
"Bury Plastics have lent us their van, which has saved us £400 van hire.
"The milkman’s lent us his hay bales, so that’s saved us £200 for seating.
"That's what the carnival is about, community cohesion."
Karen is a food trader and her business, Mama Lou's, aims to offer affordable food for families.
She will be serving up hot doughnuts, burgers, nachos, chips and hot dogs at the carnival.
Karen says there is a special seven-foot-tall trophy for the Best In Parade alongside smaller trophies for different categories on the day.
She said she is most excited for the professional performers to take the stage, including a Dolly Parton tribute act and a Mr Tumble act.
Instead of a carnival queen, every child in the borough was invited to be part of carnival royalty, wearing a costume of their choice.
Karen says 82 children will be taking part and will walk in the parade to receive a medal and sash.
She described it as "one of the nicest things we do."
This year's parade is set to be the biggest yet, with over 40 different entrants including dance groups, floats and rugby clubs.
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