CINDERELLA’S coach, a leaping hare and a giant cuckoo clock were among lanterns which lit up the streets of Okehampton on Saturday night.

This year’s Okehampton Lanterns procession, organised by Wren Music, was the biggest ever, with no fewer than 11 community groups taking part.

In the weeks leading up to the annual event, locals met to make lanterns at Ebenezer Hall, Wren Music’s base in North Street.

The fruits of their labours — dozens of pyramid lanterns — brought a touch of the exotic to the streets of the town.

South Zeal Brownies and Okehampton Rainbows were among the youngest taking part.

The theme of this year’s event was the folklore surrounding Cinderella, with artists Gavin Lewery and Becky Bryson creating the spectacular Cinderella’s coach, cuckoo clock and hare lanterns in the procession.

Setting off from St James Chapel, it made its way through the streets ending up in Simmons Park by the bandstand.

Wren Music thanked all those in the town and surrounding villages who made the event possible and Okehampton United Charities for financially supporting it.

‘We have been delighted by the response from the community,’ said project manager Paul Tucker. ‘Ebenezer Hall has been full of energy, with drumming, laughter and singing. Many new families have joined the project this year and we have had groups from villages around for the first time.’

The procession featured music, directed by Wren musician Jon Dyer, with 48 young dancers from the Okehampton Community Dance Project taking part in the procession and the finale in the park. The evening culminated in live music and fireworks.

Paul added: ‘The later start time allowed everyone to get there in a relaxed fashion and we hit the wonderful changeover from light to dark, starting the procession in the light and finishing in the dark out in Simmons Park.’

Pictures by James Bird — see more in this week’s Okehampton Times.