Middfest 2012 draws in record crowds

Fun in the sun at Midfest

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The 12th annual Middleton Festival drew in record-breaking crowds.

Parkfield Playing Fields in Middleton was the destination for thousands of locals.

Middleton Round Table organised the event, which brought all the fun of the fair, from traditional shows to stalls and a beer tent.

The attractions included local dance and singing groups on the main stage, a dance competition featuring troupes from as far as Fleetwood and Liverpool, dog shows and typical fair events such as a pot shy and coconut shy. Proceedings were accompanied by the sounds of local brass bands as a talent contest and majorettes show also got underway.

Younger guests were treated to a fun fair, face painting and donkey rides in the sunshine.

Andy Lill, organiser of Middfest, said: "It all went very well. We had a very good attendance and numbers were up on last year, probably due to the fantastic weather. We definitely had some burnt faces.

"It’s amazing since we were considering having to cancel last Thursday with the boggy ground."

And this year’s Middfest was given a medieval twist to celebrate the 600th anniversary of St. Leonard’s Parish Church.

Mr Lill said: "We took a different approach this time, with medieval-themed events like jousting to coincide with the anniversary of the church, and it went down a storm.

"I think the people of Middleton decided to make the most of the sunshine, grab an ice cold beer and just have a great weekend."

Janice Powell from the Rotary Club of Middleton, organiser of the event’s balloon race and treasure hunt, was thrilled with how successful the weekend was.

"Both events were great fun. This was the first year we’ve done the balloon race and it went down really well and we set off 170 balloons. A special cash prize is waiting for the first person to send back their ticket, so hopefully somebody will be in touch soon.

"There was such a good turnout a good breeze for the balloon race on top of the amazing weather we had. We had a couple of scary moments with balloons in trees, but it was fantastic. The balloon race raised £170.00 and treasure hunt also raised £60.00.’"