IT'S party time in Leyland this weekend and with so much to celebrate, it's sure to be a festival to remember.

On Saturday the town will become a dazzling array of colour as local clubs, firms and organisations take to the streets on 100 floats in a two-mile procession.

It kicks off at 1pm from Centurion Way and winds its way through bunting-bedecked streets to Worden Park where BBC Children's TV presenter Stuart Miles will welcome them to the gala day.

Festival day (Saturday) promises to be a bumper family fun day with hot air balloon rally, horse show, mass parachute descent and grand fireworks finale.

Rebecca Ellison, 16, who attends Wellfield High, will be crowned festival queen by South Ribble Mayor Betty Greenland and there'll be stalls, side shows, games and displays, as well as competitions galore and fund-raising events for local charities.

On Sunday June 2, the Leyland 100 Gathering promises to be the transport event of the year. More than 200 historic trucks, buses, fire engines and military vehicles - all built in Leyland - will converge in the town centre to mark 100 years of truck building.

The rally includes vehicles from as far away as Dublin and Dunstable, making the trip to Leyland under their own steam despite some of them being up to 75 years old.

One of the special attractions of the rally is the famous Leyland Straight Eight racing car built in the 1920s.

There will also be many lovingly restored vintage vehicles including a 1908 Leyland X2 bus which is thought to be the oldest British-built bus in existence.

Leyland will be closed to domestic vehicles on Sunday but free out-of-town car parks have been set up along with a free bus service.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.