A North East festival is well and truly underway with the first two days of the annual celebration being hailed a huge success so far.
Houghton Feast takes place every year in October bringing residents a free celebration offering a different theme each year, with this year's theme "King of Coal" continuing to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III in May this year.
The ancient festival dates all the way back to the 12th century when the feast celebrated the parish church of St Michael & All Angels.
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Pictures from the event show the traditional roasting of the ox.
Paul Lanagan, Ox Roasting co-ordinator at the Houghton Feast Trust spoke about the amount of time and dedication that has gone into planning this year's event.
He said: "The planning of Houghton Feast starts a year before the event arrives so we are all very much looking forward to this year’s special Coronation themed festival, as we continue our commemorations for the new King."
What can you expect as the week goes on:
The main attractions include a fairground and games that are set up at Rectory Field on Dairy Lane.
However, other events are taking place across the town including in Houghton Library, Houghton Parish Church and Houghton Welfare Hall across the ten-day period.
This includes the traditional pipes and drums march will head along Newbottle Street, making its way to the Carnival Parade starting point.
How long will the festival be?
The Houghton Festival for 2023 kicked off at 6pm on Friday, October 6.
Opening times for the rest of the festival are as follows:
Saturday, October 7: 1pm to 10pm
Sunday, October 8: CLOSED
Monday, October 9 – Friday, October 13: 6pm to 10pm
Saturday, October 14: 1pm to 10pm
Pictures of the first two days:
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