The streets of Coventry will be alive with music and movement on Saturday 10 June when the annual Canley Parade returns to the city.

Proud as a peacock is the theme for the 2023 event which promises colourful displays of strutting, Samba sounds, banner and flag waving. Pupils from local schools, members of Canley churches and community groups and care home residents are all gearing up to showcase their creative skills.

The parade sets off from Canley Community Church, on Charter Avenue, Canley, at 11am. It will then snake through the Coventry suburb prior to culminating at Prior Deram Park at 12.30pm.

At the park, participants, spectators and visitors are welcomed by Canley Big Lunch (12noon to 4pm) - an afternoon of free community-led activities for all, with arts and crafts activities, free pop-up cafe and BBQ, stalls, table-top sale, and children’s play.

The always much-anticipated Canley Parade is the biggest community event in the area, and is part of the wider Playing Out project - a three-year programme of creative activity taking place across Canley from 2021 to 2023.

A collaboration between Canley residents and nearby Warwick Arts Centre, Playing Out is designed for and by participants of all ages, and includes free weekly creative workshops at Canley Community Centre, St. Stephens Church and Canley Library, as well as creative sessions at Charter Academy, Cannon Park Primary School and Westwood Academy, plus Willowbrook Residential Village and Bonneville Place.

Gemma Wright, Warwick Arts Centre's Head of Creative Learning, said: “The annual Canley Parade is an important part of the Playing Out project. It gives the entire community a chance to come together, show their pride in Canley and have a truly joyful celebration.”

For more information on Canley Parade, visit: playingoutcanley.org