By Meg Jorsh

Last updated at 13:45, Monday, 09 November 2009

Fire dancers, stilt walkers and a procession of 12 foot ants welcomed hundreds of visitors to Carlisle city centre this weekend.

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The street entertainers were recruited to celebrate Love Carlisle Day on Saturday, the official launch of the Carlisle Tourism Partnership.

In spite of the rain, families flocked to see acts like Antz Orkezdra, an army of musical ants last seen at the Beijing Olympics.

They were joined by living statues, a Charlie Chaplin mime artist and contortionist Chris Cross, in an eight-hour programme of entertainment.

Sarah Middling, 42, of London Road, Carlisle, enjoyed Punch and Judy shows and face painting with her son Josh, five.

She said: “We’ve come out especially for this because Josh loves his Punch and Judy shows. It’s a really nice atmosphere.

“People are so friendly around here – it’s one of the good things about Carlisle.”

And Donna Mantici, 32, of Borland Avenue, Botcherby, Carlisle, brought children Scott, 11, Aysha, five, and Laila, three, to join the fun.

She said: “It’s been really good, actually – we only just moved here from Newcastle last month and they don’t have anything like this over there. I think the children enjoyed having their faces painted the most.”

A celebrity cookery theatre gave visitors the chance to shelter from the rain with chefs Annette Gibbons, John Crouch and cheesemaker Bob Kitching. A red-coated ringmaster co-ordinated the entertainment, while London singer Steven Wright acted as MC for the day.

Kallie Wolstenholme, of the Antz Orkezdra, was impressed with what he saw of the line-up.

The performer, from Newcastle, said: “I think it’s fantastic. It’s getting a bit of a buzz about Carlisle, getting people down here and involved in some culture on a Saturday.”

The event was organised to encourage visitors to spend time enjoying the city, as part of a drive to boost Carlisle tourism. Businesses like The Lanes shopping centre, Hoopers and House of Fraser all laid on special promotions for the day.

Marie Whitehead, co-ordinator of Carlisle Tourism Partnership, was delighted by visitors’ support for the event.

She said: “It’s been amazing. Considering it’s a rainy day in November, everyone’s turned out in the city centre to have some fun. We wanted to put on a variety of entertainment that would cater for children, families and older people as well.”

The newly-created partnership aims to increase city tourism by 10 per cent between now and 2012, creating 200 jobs and £12 million for the local economy. Over the next few months, it will lobby funding bodies for cash to improve Carlisle’s hotels and guesthouses.

She added: “Part of our aim is to get as many people into the city centre as possible. We decided to have a big launch event that showed all the businesses and tourist attractions what we can do if we all work together.”

As well as working with existing companies, the CTP aims to raise national awareness of Carlisle and create investment.

It brings together experts from Cumbria Tourism, Carlisle City Council, the North West Development Agency, Hadrian’s Wall Heritage and Carlisle Renaissance.

First published at 11:34, Monday, 09 November 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk