THOUSANDS of people took part in or watched this year's Maindee Festival in Newport. ANDY RUTHERFORD reports from the riot of colour which paraded through the city's streets.

WHEN creatures as outlandish as the Green Man, a 20-feet high robot, giant butterflies, and a trio of mischievous emus take to the streets of Newport, there can only be one explanation - it's Maindee Festival time.

These were among the outsized puppet creations paraded along and around Corporation Road ahead of an afternoon of community celebration in the grounds of Maindee primary school.

Compared to last summer, the sun has not been so shy this time around, and it chose festival day to blaze down - and the colourful festival parade was a perfect compliment to the soaring temperature.

Thousands of hours goes into designing and making the puppets, costumes and props for what has become a major event in the Newport summer calendar.

Hundreds of Maindee residents and schoolchildren are involved in the preparations for an event that has been going since the mid-1990s. This year the theme was Seeds of Change, aimed at getting people interested in planting flowers.

Maindee Festival Association has been planting gladioli - and encouraging people to do the same - in the run-up to this year's festival.

This year's event got celebrity support in the form of self-styled housewife superstar Dame Edna Everage, herself a gladioli fan, who back in March encouraged people to attend.

One of those who did was Debbie Hall, 36, from Cwmbran, who has been coming with her children for three years, since seeing pictures of puppets from a past parade in the Argus.

"They looked brilliant and they are even better close-up," she said.

"People must take ages over them and it's well worth the effort. The children love them and it's just really good fun."

On the festival field there was plenty to keep adults and children happy, including bands, solo performers, clowns, drummers, Maindee primary school dancers, the choir from Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Teyrnon, and martial arts exhibitions.

There was also a very busy youth stage for up and coming performers, and the final of the Maindee's Got Talent competition.

• Maindee Festival Association runs a website at www.maindee.org for anyone interested in getting involved, or telephone 01633 762155.