It might have been a chilly night, but inside Christ Church the atmosphere was warm and friendly as people turned out to enjoy mulled wine and live music as part of the Barnaby People’s Piano Auction on Sunday 4 December.

Organisers are busy planning the contemporary Visual Arts trail for the next Macclesfield Barnaby Festival, which takes place on

21-24 June 2012. For the first time, submissions are being invited from artists across the region by Monday 28 November.

Sunday 4 December 2011, 6pm-8pm

Christ Church, Bridge Street, Macclesfield, SK11 6EG

The People’s Pianos, which brought music and colour to the streets of Macclesfield during this year’s Barnaby Festival are being auctioned to raise money for the next Barnaby Festival, 21-24 June 2012.

Thousands of people visited Macclesfield over the weekend of 17-19 June to enjoy a wealth of activities and events as part of this year’s Macclesfield Barnaby Festival.

Despite torrential rain on the Saturday morning, hundreds of people lined the streets of Macclesfield town centre to enjoy the spectacle of the 2011 Barnaby Festival Parade. Nearly 1000 adults and children from local schools, community groups and businesses dressed up in costume to celebrate the town’s 750th anniversary, joined by 12 giant puppets each representing a different historical figure.

Things are hotting up for this year’s Barnaby Festival, with over seventy events happening at forty venues throughout Macclesfield town centre, over the weekend of 17-19 June.