A POPULAR village festival returned for the first time in four years in line with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The Jubilee weekend saw the successful return of the popular biennial Colne Engaine Festival.

First beginning in 1996, it was 13th festival to be staged in the village.

The event is organised by the Colne Engaine Festival Committee, who were excited to bring it back after it was cancelled in 2020.

Gazette: Grub's up - the Darraline Bruschetta Bar (all pictures: Brian Fleming)

About 2,000 visitors attended the festival over the four days to enjoy a wide range of activities on offer, which is the busiest turnout it had ever had.

The days consisted of activities such as dancing, bubble games, splat the rat and a dog show.

Gazette: Tumble - bubble games at Colne Engaine Festival

Gazette: Games - children loved trying to splat the rat

Gazette: Good boy - the dog show in the arena was a huge hit

There was also a surprise visit from the wild red kites during the birds of prey display which added extra drama.

Chairman of the organising committee Juliet Townsend had high praise for the festival, saying how good the spirit was throughout the event.

Gazette: Enjoyment - residents enjoying some county dancing

She said: “The festival was great, and it was wonderful to hold this event again after having to cancel the 2020 festival due to the pandemic.

“Each of the five separate events went to plan, organised well by the committee, and supported by a crew of 63 volunteers from the village.

Gazette: Hard work - members of the organising committee and volunteers

“We saw a fantastic turnout of people as excited as we were that festival was back, and feedback has been grin-inducingly positive with a really buzzy feeling of community spirit.

“We put more money into the arena displays and it paid off as there was always a great audience.

“The marquee was sold out for all three of our evenings and the ground was the busiest we’ve ever seen it for our daytime events.

“For our sold out Saturday night we had invited the Funk Soul Lovers back for their fifth festival and they didn’t disappoint, filling the dancefloor thanks to a blistering live performance.

Gazette: Committee chair Juliet Townsend lets off red, white, and blue smoke to end the festival (pic: Cherry McKean)Committee chair Juliet Townsend lets off red, white, and blue smoke to end the festival (pic: Cherry McKean)

“Now we are all going to have a rest now before starting to plan for the next festival in 2024.”