TODAY'S opening parade will mark the beginning of the Cookson Country Festival, on South Tyneside.
The six-week festival gets under way this afternoon, as dozens of floats, costumed characters, marching bands and vintage vehicles meet for the start of the parade, at 1.30pm.
It will include a band, traditional folk group, and cyclists from South Tyneside's German twin town Wuppertal.
They are marking the 50th anniversary of the towns' twinning links.
Congregating in the Claypath Lane/Percy Street area, the parade will move through the streets of South Tyneside.
The festival runs until August 12. Programmes are available from tourist information centres, libraries and council offices.
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