it all about? Don't know, but it's a right laugh anyway!

Such was the carefree consensus from Bury folk as the town turned into an international riot of colour and noise at the Streets Ahead festival.

Thousands took advantage of the glorious sunny weather to crowd the town centre and enjoy a day's free entertainment from home-grown and foreign attractions.

The Bank Holiday festival, now an annual event, is Bury's contribution to the Manchester-wide Streets Ahead jamboree.

Despite the presence of several overseas acts, it was the local contingent who took precedence early on.

Leading the opening parade from Kay Gardens up Market Street and along The Rock were local samba band Zambura, now augmented by dancers, and the youngsters of Bury Arts Project who attracted some amazed stares in their silvery alien costumes.

Scores of youngsters enjoyed painting, circus and drumming classes in the specially created One World Village in Kay Gardens while the festival moved on.

Elsewhere, there were some even more cosmopolitan acts. Perhaps the quirkiest was Aksident, a Belgian trio looking like Mike Flowers Pops claiming to be from Vladivostock University. Supposedly conducting a scientific unvestigation into love, with props including bunny rabbits, bicycles and women plucked from the audience, they spent more time knocking back vodka, but it was all the more amusing for that. The most elaborate show - and in this writer's opinion the best - came from Cirque Ronaldo and their bandwagon of circus tricks and skills. Performing on The Rock, they alternated between being supremely incompetent and stunningly talented in everything from juggling to a stunning fake cannonball finale. Extremely funny, but a riddle: the programme says they're from Belgium, yet why did they talk in Italian?

Among the most spectacular were undoubtedly the Black Eagles from Tanzania (pictured), who performed some stunning acrobatics, jumping through hoops and standing three-high on each others' shoulders which, of course, always deliciously threatened to come tumbling down.

Also bringing an African flavour to events were the drums and dancers of Osagyefo, who performed outside the Met in a demonstration of Ghanian culture.

And there was more than a touch of the surreal with Spong Theatre who turned a Bernard Cribbens-style tale of workman digging a hole into an all-singing and dancing musical!

All the while the bands played on. Apart from Zambura, the music ranged from Latin rock with Eso Es to folk/rock with Sally Barker to the South African township jive of Skokiaan.

Meanwhile, native American Dennis Rogers was demonstrating traditional dances while the Whalley Range All-Stars delighted shoppers with their showroom dummy antics in the Bon Marche window.

A selection of jugglers and strange creatures in fancy dress mingled with the crowds throughout the afternoon - those by Aggressive Honey Fungus even frightened the dogs - and the Crease Police made sure we were all dressed for the occasion.

And finally, a touch of the apocalyptic as events culminated in a smoke spectacle reminiscent of the Book of Revelations, aptly outside the parish church. No horsemen came out of the thick engulfing clouds, although many revellers were wishing they had stood upwind!

Organisers at the Met said they were delighted with the turnout and the smooth way proceedings had gone, not least with the weather.

And not an officially sanctioned piece of underwear all day!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.