Macclesfield town centre was buzzing at the weekend with the return of the Barnaby Festival. The weather may not have been on Barnaby’s side, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of thousands of visitors who flocked to the town to experience the plethora of arts, music and entertainment put on for the revival Macclesfield’s traditional fair.
Lynne Jones, chairman of Macclesfield Barnaby Festival, said: "It may have rained on the parade but it’s didn’t rain on Barnaby. The parade was fantastic, the Samba band and zumba dancers really kept the energy going all the way around – even with make-up streaming down their faces.
"And the Street Fest on Sunday was amazing, people were saying it was like a mini-Covent Garden, we had some really high quality acts who really got the children involved. All the stalls at the street kitchen sold out, people were sitting in the market place and soaking up the atmosphere, it really was wonderful."
The Barnaby Festival is a revival of a public holiday istorically enjoyed by Maxonians.
More than 60 events took place over the weekend, from a huge community parade with enormous 15ft high puppets, to art exhibitions, poetry recitals and even a Macclesfield based opera.
Lynne added: "Hundreds of people went up the tower who didn’t know it was there, there was a great sense of part of things being ‘seen’ for the time and that is exactly what we wanted. You could tell people really wanted it to work, the people taking part and those who came out to support it."
MP David Rutley and his family joined in the celebrations. He said: "We saw so many different aspects of our community in one weekend.
"I think the thing that stood out for me was the actual outpouring of community support on what was a very, very damp weekend, from people who wanted to play their part in supporting the community event.
"The organisers of Barnaby deserve huge thanks for what they have done. This year they achieved this huge involvement from local community groups which made it a such an important community event."
The carnival rhythms of samba provided the heart beat for the Barnaby Parade and marched around the town centre on Saturday.
Despite a torrential downpour, almost 1,000 people - including school children, puppeteers, musicians, cadets and performers – joined in the spirit of the event.
Under the theme ‘Treacle Town Timeline’, the parade included famous faces from the town’s 750 year history as a chartered borough.
Characters included St Barnabas, Maggoty Johnson – a famous English jester who is buried in Gawsworth, John de Macclesfield, William Jodrell, Joan Fitton, Charles Row, scientist James Chadwick and Ian Curtis. John Hartshorn, artistic director of the Barnaby Parade, said: "It was fantastic we loved it. We didn’t mind about the rain. It takes more than a bit of rain to get Macclesfield folk down."
He added: "Everybody with the parade were dancing along and singing in the rain and the crowd were cheering us along and dancing in shop doorways with huge smiles on their faces. Next year will be bigger and better! - although it might be an umbrella parade."
See this week's Express for an eight-page special on the Barnaby Festival
