THOUSANDS turned out to support the biggest celebration of the River Wye in Hereford over the weekend.

The Hereford River Carnival kicked off on Friday night as performers, musicians, dancers and rafters brought the creatures of the Mappa Mundi to life, journeying from the cathedral to Bishops Meadow.

The event, which featured torch-lit floats on the River Wye, drew in around 2,000 spectators.

Meanwhile, Saturday saw the CHAR sprint raft race before a fun dog show, colourful street carnival through Hereford, live music on the Nozstock stage and a duck race, organised by the City of Hereford Rotary Club, which raised £10,000 for good causes.

The county’s independent food scene was also enjoyed by visitors to the food village which included the Beefy Boys, Rule of Tum, Rocket Kitchen, Peter Cooks Bread, Method Roastery, Trumpers’ Teas, Seb’s Cider and the Old Granary Pierogi.

Polly Ernest, one of the festival organisers, said: “We had around 14,000 people on the site over the course of the day, plus hundreds who lined the streets to watch the foot procession and lined the river bank down to Villa Street.

“It went brilliantly. It was such a diverse community event which was really fantastic. It was just full of really great fun.”

She added her thanks to Bex Huggett, creative director, and Leo Caithness, who make the River Carnival happen.

Tesco helped to feed the volunteers – there were around 200 – while Left Bank provided their space at no charge.

The ELY Memorial Fund was the winner of the best float while Cricket Hereford signed up 300 five to eight-year-olds for their programme which starts in early May.

Meanwhile, more than 4,500 ducks took to the river for the City of Hereford Rotary Club’s duck race.

More ducks were sold than ever before, raising around £10,000 for charities.

Spokesman for Hereford City Rotary Club, Luke Conod, said: "We are delighted to work with the wonderful team from Hereford River Carnival and thank them for giving us the opportunity to raise a record £10,000 for charity, it was a wonderful day."

Organisers added their thanks to the event sponsors - Hereford City Council, Cotswold MINI, Wye Valley Brewery and Harrison Clark Rickerbys. 

Visit rivercarnival.org.uk for more.