FAMILIES are being urged to have a fun day out at the Devizes Carnival picnic, which will launch two weeks of carnival activities.

The event, which was hailed a huge success after being staged for the first time last year, will be held on Sunday August 18 at Hillworth Park, Devizes, and admission is free.

Picnickers are asked to take their own food, rugs and chairs between noon and 4pm. Live music will be provided by blues band The Barflys followed by Tinkers Cuss.

Entertainment for children in the form of magic workshops will be laid on, and for grown up there's a licensed bar plus hot dogs and burgers for sale.

Devizes Carnival chairman Ian Hopkins said: "We are putting on the carnival picnic because people said to us they would like a family day.

"Last year the weather was not very kind to us but we still had a lot of people there and they enjoyed it.

"We chose Hillworth Park because it is such a beautiful place. It's hidden away in Devizes and a lot of people who have moved into the town don't know it exists."

The carnival committee is hoping to make this year's carnival even better than last year's.

The popular carnival street festival takes place on Bank Holiday Monday August 26.

The festival, which is free, has an excellent reputation for the performers it features and the carnival organisers are expecting more than 10,000 people to attend this year.

The carnival organisers are keeping under wraps the line up for the street festival but have promised that visitors will not be disappointed as they have top performers from this country and all over Europe.

The Market Place will be closed to traffic throughout the day.

There will be two stages, a music stage outside the Corn Exchange and a performing stage next to HSBC. There will also be strolling entertainers.

The confetti battle takes place in the Market Place on Wednesday August 28 and more than 2,000 bags of confetti have been prepared.

The carnival procession is on Saturday August 31 starting at 6.30pm from The Green and organisers hope to beat last year's total of more than 40 floats.