Shropshire: Love Oswestry ends with successful lantern parade

After the festival showcasing the very best of the town returned through the half-term week, the celebrations were capped with a walk through town to the beat of drums and more.

Oswestry mayor Councillor Jay Moore, himself a drummer, led the way with ‘Bubble Fairy’ and fellow drummers from Festival Square, through Cae Glas Park and through to the Bailey Head.

Here, young and old were treated to a musical treat from choir Os Rocks on what was the main celebration day for Love Oswestry. 

The parade capped off events throughout the town for the previous week, such as workshops, a photo exhibition at Qube in OSwweald Road, plus an event with English Heritage at the hillfort. 

Borderland Rotary club helped bring the festival over the finish line with handling traffic control.

Rotary members helped handle traffic control by the TSB Bank and then at the passage by Wetherspoons as children streamed from Red Square carrying their lanterns aloft in to the park which was, by then, cloaked in darkness.

Sam Jones from Love Oswestry, who organised the day-long event said that the hard work paid off in the end.

"We’ve been helped by so many people and organisations but I must mention Bridie and the team at Design in Mind as they have facilitated the making of the lanterns –and they were great.

"I think the festival is now firmly on the events calendar in Oswestry."

He continued: "It’s been such hard work but hopefully, totally worth it."

Thanks to Graham Mitchell for this fantastic selection of pictures of the lantern parade as it made its way through Oswestry.