Our torchlight procession welcomes 100s of Preston and Lancashire’s community to join us for a great fun evening of performance. Fabulous troupes that make Lancashire their home, from the Preston City Mela and Carnival groups to local bands and dancers join us on Saturday night to process from Moor Park, down Deepdale Road and directly into the city centre. Alongside our community performers are exciting acts like Mr Wilson’s Second Liners playing great fun music that gets you dancing. In 2023 we are also bringing giant robot characters to say hello and we will be offering workshops to help make some large puppets to join the parade. During the procession we will work with legends such as the Liverpool Lantern Company to ensure our Torchlight Procession is an iconic event which will bring much-needed economic activity to the city centre. All of this is offered for free so that everyone can get involved!

What we'll deliver:

• A procession of 300 community group participants through Preston City Centre by torchlight.
• Over 100 fabulous bands and dancers.
• Large puppets created with community members and walking the streets of Preston by torchlight.
• A safe family friendly event for Preston City Centre
• Maintaining free access to Encounter festival events for all
• Paid work for local artists and performers

Why it's a great idea:

This procession provides great joy and fun for all the groups involved where they get to perform in front of a crowd of thousands of people. Participation encourages wellbeing by making friends, being celebrated and enjoying the experience of being in this wonderful parade. Our event is open to everyone and is free to attend. We want to make sure all of Preston’s communities, but especially families, can have a fun day out without having to worry about the costs. We feel this is really important in the cost-of-living crisis where families are facing increasing stress regarding finances. Encounter provides time to share fun experiences together. The parade audiences feel pride in the city and this show of great skill and beauty. This event also supports local businesses by bring thousands of people into the city centre over the festival weekend.

Steps to get it done:

• Publicise public call out for local community groups to take part in procession
• Schedule professional music and performances
• Complete and distribute print marketing for the festival including procession route details
• Agree procession route with LCC as in previous years
• Agree and commission traffic management company
• Final information sent to all community groups and performers - 2nd Sept
• Procession 16th September