DANCERS in Caribbean dress brought a bit of colour to Bournemouth beach on Saturday with a masquerade parade.

The festival event, run by Umoja Arts Network, began with a lively ‘carnival’ procession from Alum Chine to the Triangle, taking in Bournemouth Pier and the Lower Gardens.

Sporting dazzling costumes and puppets, made with help from design students at the Arts University, some 200 youngsters from Kings Park, Malmesbury Park and Kingsleigh primary schools took part in the parade.

See all our pictures from the Masquerade parade in a gallery

And across the town centre there was live music and dance performances, as well as dance workshops in the Triangle and at Pavilion Dance for holiday-makers to get involved.

Umoja Arts’ Tony Morrison said: “I think this was the best festival we have ever done – it was on a bigger scale than last year and we had entertainments through the day after the parade.

“It helped that Bournemouth was so busy and it was such a nice day, there was a real carnival atmosphere.

“Our only hitch was when the parade came across a wedding on the beach and had to stop for 20 minutes. It must have been interesting for them saying their vows with Caribbean music in the background.”

Umoja Arts was set up in Bournemouth in 2001. Mr Morrison said organising the festival had been hard work, but rewarding.

“It’s fantastic to have so many young people involved,” he said.

“Next year we will try and do something even bigger, and one day we would like to have a full two-day carnival event in Bournemouth.”

Away from the music and crowds an exhibition of local people’s experiences of carnivals and masquerades and related artefacts is on display at Bournemouth Library until July 29, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The festival, formerly known as the Caribbean Carnival Roadshow, is intended to get youngsters involved in creating costumes and dances and learning about the richness of Caribbean culture and its African roots.

As well as Bournemouth, where last year the event attracted some 4,000 people, the festival has previously taken place in Swanage and Weymouth.