Published Friday 22 April 2022 at 12:56
Huge floats are set to parade into Blackburn town centre as part of a free national festival.
Tour de Moon will call at Cathedral Square in Blackburn on Thursday, May 19th.
It’ll be one of just 10 towns that the convoy of electric vehicles will visit as part of the planned programme – with festivals also taking place in Newcastle, Leicester and Southampton.
Leading the convoy will be a large rotating moon that appears and disappears at night.
There’ll also be a full-size replica of nine metre long ‘Archie The Squid’ who resides at The Natural History Museum in London.
The ‘Moon Convoy’ itself will boast a fully sustainable armada of vehicles and is being used to inspire people about a different way of thinking, dreaming and doing.
On the night, there’ll be live music and DJ sets, film screenings, talks, an inflatable game and more.
Dr Nelly Ben Hayoun is the Creative Director of the Festival.
The artist and filmmaker was the founder of NASA’s International Space Orchestra and the tuition-free University of the Underground.
Speaking about Tour de Moon, she said:
Our main objective is to prompt radical imagination, support pluralistic thinking so to offer alternative futures developed by and with youths.
With this festival we decided to redistribute our funding and to use our platform to celebrate the nightlife sector and young adults – demographics which have been hit especially hard by the impacts of Covid and funding cuts over the last few years.
Nelly’s team has allocated more than £1m of its budget to bursaries for young creatives to produce their own original contributions for the event.
Martin Eden, Strategic Director of Environment and the Council’s Lead for Climate Change, said:
It’s fantastic news that Tour de Moon will be visiting Blackburn.
We’re one of very few stops right across the country and it’s a chance to look at new ways of thinking around important subjects, including climate change.
The festival will run between 6pm and 10pm on May 19th.
As well as the floats, food and drink will be available on the night.
For more information, please visit: www. tourdemoon.com/home