There are 64 days left in the countdown to Barnaby Festival, and the race is on to create 10,000 stars to fill the streets on Saturday, June 18 for the carnival parade.

A cavalcade of characters, decorated floats, giant puppets and 800 Maxonians will bring music, dance and song to the town centre.

It’s set to be Macclesfield’s most exciting day of the year!

The parade also plays a key part in ‘

La Lune’ (The Moon) an ambitious multi-dimensional experience for families commissioned specially for this year’s festival.

It’s the brainchild of Macclesfield-based ‘Wild Rumpus’ which creates outdoor adventures for children.

La Lune tells the story of an astronomer bringing the moon and the stars down to earth to show to the people of Macclesfield.

As the stars fall the town glitters with starlight.

Everyone taking part in or coming to watch the parade is asked to bring a star and leave it behind to decorate the streets – hang on a fence, a lamppost, a tree, anywhere safe!

Stars can be any size, any shape, colour or material and freestar-making workshops are already taking place across the town.

Drop in to Tesco Metro, Exchange Street any Saturday in April, 10am-4pm, or Community ArtSpace, Sutton Mill, Heapy Street any Tuesday 12-9pm.

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Take a pew for The Astronomer’s Story:

Historic Christ Church has been redundant for over 30 years but has been used at each Barnaby Festival since 2010.

The building has seen rock concerts, a community opera, stand-up comedy, artwork, a brass band and classical music.

This is the first time it will host children’s

theatre – a pilot project supported by building owners The Churches Conservation Trust and The Roe-naissance Project, a community group working to find a new use for the building.

The Astronomer’s Story, a 45-minute production which runs throughout Saturday 18 and Sunday June 19, is devised by London-based LAS Theatre.

The audience will hear how the astronomer who has brought down the moon and the stars is unable to send them back, leaving Macclesfield in peril!

The actors get the audience involved, leading them in an immersive experience around the church as the tale unfolds.

Tickets are £8 each (£6 for Macclesfield residents) from barnabyfestival.org.uk.

On the lawns around Christ Church there’ll be a host of free

hands-on activities, story-telling, science experiments, music, play, space-themed films and much more.

Further details at www.lalune.org.uk .