PAISLEY is preparing to welcome tens of thousands of visitors as its annual Halloween Festival returns this weekend.
The free-to-attend family event takes place from Thursday to Saturday and will take over the town centre, against the stunning backdrop of Paisley Abbey.
The festival includes the return of live performances for the first time since 2019, plus spectacular aerial acrobatics and specially-created installations, on the theme of heroes, myths and legends.
The event is delivered by Renfrewshire Council in partnership with internationally-recognised circus performance specialists Cirque Bijou, and supported by EventScotland's National Events Programme, in celebration of Scotland’s Year of Stories 2022.
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Louisa Mahon, Renfrewshire Council head of marketing, communications and events, said: "We are delighted to welcome back Paisley Halloween Festival, which has grown over the years into one of the country’s must-see events of its kind.
"The festival is designed as a free family night out, and with a packed and varied programme of activity taking place across the town centre each night, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
"We are also delighted to offer a platform to develop and showcase the talents of the many wonderful creative and cultural groups in Renfrewshire who co-produced this programme.
"We are ready and waiting to welcome the tens of thousands of visitors expected over the three days and we hope you will enjoy everything Paisley and its traders have to offer."
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Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland director of events, said: "EventScotland is delighted to be supporting the return of Paisley Halloween Festival through our National Events Programme and in celebration of Scotland’s Year of Stories.
"Events play an important role in our communities by offering us the chance to come together and share memorable experiences.
"The Paisley town centre is the perfect stage for the Halloween Festival, offering an array of live performances and installations for all to enjoy across three fun-filled nights."
Programme highlights include:
- spooky installations including a giant arachnabot spider with a creepy spider’s lair, a fire-breathing dragon, and an interactive walk-through fire garden;
- a spectacular good-v-evil superhero battle on the roof of the town’s Piazza shopping centre and on a 20ft digital wall, staged by Scotland’s leading aerial performance specialists All or Nothing;
- cult-inspired mobile dance performance by award-winning theatre-makers Megahertz, plus giant eerie illuminated digital face puppets wandering the streets;
- live performances from returning festival favourites Spark! LED Drummers and the flame-throwing Pyro-Celtica;
- superhero-inspired arts and crafts workshops and character meet ‘n’ greet;
- spoken-word projections on a giant video wall, carnival rides, choir performances, food stalls including marshmallow fire pits, and loads more for all the family.
Unlike previous years, the event does not include a parade but instead, the performances listed above will be taking place at various times and locations on each of the three nights.
Paisley Halloween Festival will take place from Thursday, October 27 to Saturday, October 29 from 6pm to 9pm each night.
You can find out more HERE.
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