Longton Carnival & Pig Walk Parade

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Longton Carnival and Pig Walk Parade, organised by Longton-based arts organisation Urban Wilderness CIC, will take place for the third time in Longton town centre on Sunday, April 6, from 11am to 4pm, as part of the city's centenary celebrations.

Featuring performance stages, live music, a funfair, street food and an artisan market, the event will also include the spectacular Pig Walk Parade – complete with a giant pig puppet called Jolly – at 3pm. The parade will again be led by Stoke-on-Trent-based contemporary nu-marching band KiLNE.

The parade celebrates a true story from the 1880s when the Mayor of Longton, John Aynsley, successfully drove a pig from Trentham to Longton to win a bet with the Duke of Sutherland. As a result, Aynsley won the land to create Queen's Park and the money to build Longton Cottage Hospital.

While The Strand will be closed for most of the day, the road will be opened for a short time – roughly from 11:20am to 11:30am – to allow the Star Bikers to ride through the town on their Easter egg run.

This year the team will be bringing in another local character called Meddlesome Millie, who is based on Millicent, the Duchess of Sutherland. The daughter-in-law of the Duke who made the pig bet with John Aynsley, Millicent was a writer and social reformer who campaigned for better working conditions in the Potteries, including a successful fight to remove lead paint glazes from Staffordshire pottery.

Longton Carnival and Pig Walk Parade is produced by Urban Wilderness CIC, supported by the Longton community. It is funded by Arts Council England, The National Lottery Community Fund, UK Community Foundations and Stoke-on-Trent City Council through the Shared Prosperity Fund funded by UK Government.