SHOPPERS in the Rossendale Valley could soon find themselves dancing in the streets. at the annual Rossfest Arts and Music Festival.

In Rawtenstall, Bacup or Haslingden on Saturday, May 4, there will be Latin American and Caribbean sounds from the Phase One Steel Band, the colourful spectacle of the Horse and Bamboo Theatre procession, juggling and tumbling and reggae from the East Lancs Steel Band.

The same Saturday night, there's American country line dancing with Left Hand Drive at Bacup Leisure Hall.

Alternatively, Sierra Leonean band Abana lead a Worldbeat party at Haslingden Public Hall.

The all-women dance and drumming combo Abasindi will add to the exotic flavour with a concert celebrating the African peoples at Accrington and Rawtenstall College on May 2.

Other cultural activities include a look at Rossendale through the camera lens, with exhibitions at the Valley Centre and a five-mile Irwell Way Sculpture Trail, starting at Rawtenstall on Sunday, May 5.

In addition, there will be a crafts showcase at the Astoria, Rawtenstall on Monday, May 6 and Asian poetry readings at Haslingden Library on Friday, May 3.

Rock fans can also enjoy bands Rasp and The Mighty Asylum in Bacup on Friday, May 3, while jazz fans can see the Northern Jazz Orchestra at Rawtenstall on the same night.

Throughout Bank Holiday Monday, May 6, the Valley Centre, Rawtenstall, will be buzzing with performances by local bands, dancers, theatre groups and jugglers.

Rossfest '96 is organised by Mid Pennine Arts and Rossendale Council in association with Lancashire County Council Arts and the North West Arts Board.

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