ULVERSTON is gearing up for its biggest night of the year when thousands of people crowd into the town for its lantern festival.

The festival, taking place on September 16 will see a ‘River of Light’ spectacle around the town for the thousands of spectators who flock to Ulverston.

This year the format is changing with the procession staying in the town centre for a street party with a big firework finale.

There will be no move up to Ford Park for the finale, but the park is providing car parking for visitors with access from the A590 via Swan Street.

The town centre is closed to traffic from 7pm through to 10pm.

The 2017 theme is ‘Outer Space’ and the streets will be filling with a whole galaxy of aliens, spaceships, outlandish creatures, planets, and characters created through films TV and comic books, from Star Wars and Star Trek through to Guardians of the Galaxy and ET.

Kits are available at £5 each from Appleseeds, the Laurel and Hardy Museum, The Book Shack in the Market Hall, and Costa Coffee, and contain everything needed to build a lantern.

The organisers have also announced the timetable for 2017 lantern workshops at the Parish Rooms in Church Walk.

They will take place from 2-6pm on September 9 and 10, and from 5.30-8.30pm from September 11-15.

The cost is £5 per lantern for standard sized lanterns, and £10 for larger lanterns, with space to build and dry lanterns, all materials, and plenty of advice.

Lanterns committee chair Chris Nelson is predicting another great night for Ulverston.

He said: “The decision not to take the procession up to Ford Park is a big change for the Festival but it will provide more opportunities for pubs, cafes, takeaways and traders in the town to really get behind the festival and provide a warm welcome for the thousands of visitors.

“We are taking over Buxton Place car park as one main arena for displaying the lanterns, which means it is closed to cars fall day Saturday. Other display areas will be at the Market Cross outside the Farmers Arms, at the bottom of Market Street near Gillams, and at County Square. There will be entertainment at all those locations and the firework display will take place in the sky beyond the town, with the best vantage points in Buxton Place, Market Street, and The Gill."

For more information visit the Ulverston Lantern Festival Facebook page, www.ulverstonlanternfestival.org or www.chooseulverston.co.uk