THIS year’s Bromsgrove Carnival promises to be packed with activities, with an outdoor cinema planned, along with the main carnival parade and the annual Timberhonger run over the weekend.

The carnival is taking place from Friday, July 8 to Sunday, July 10 with a packed schedule of events taking place.

On Friday, eighties cheesefest Dirty Dancing will be screened in Sanders Park, starting just as the sun is due to go down at 9.30pm. People are invited to bring along a picnic and a blanket to enjoy the fun, and last year saw more than 500 people turning out, so arriving early is advised. There will also be a funfair operating in the park, and refreshments will be on offer, as well as a real ale bar. The screening is free, but there will be a charity collection throughout the evening.

On Saturday, there’s a Brazilian Rio theme to the carnival in keeping with this summer’s Olympic games, and the town will be filled with a parade made up of dancers and bands, and community groups, turning the High Street into the Copacabana.

Dance teacher Sarah Jayne Upton from the Bromsgrove School of Dance, said: “We’re very excited to be part of the Bromsgrove Carnival parade this year. There will be 48 dance students performing to Rio Carnival style music through the High Street and into Sanders. We think that carnival fits well with our ethos of fun for all ages and abilities and were all looking forward to a fantastic day out.”

The parade starts at 12 noon from the Artrix Theatre before processing along the High Street to Sanders Park, and groups can still join in by writing to organiser Natalie Holland at parade@bromsgrovecarnival.org or even enter on the day as long as it’s before 11.30am.

Saturday afternoon and evening will see Sanders Park filled with people as more than 40 carnival stalls set up, and musical entertainment plays on the main stage from 1pm until 7pm. The funfair will also be operating throughout the afternoon and evening.

For the more active participants, the highlight of Saturday might well be the annual Timberhonger 10k run and children’s challenge, which is hoping to take 600 runners over a challenging 10km course, packed with numerous hills. The race starts at 6pm, with the children’s challenge setting out at 5pm for young runners to take part in one of three age groups for special carnival medals.

The Timberhonger 10k is already sold out, but children can still enter the fun run on the day from 3.30pm.

Finally Sunday will see a return of the live music in Sanders Park, and the fun fair stalls will be operating from 11am to 4pm.