MANCHESTER'S free music festival Love Music Hate Racism may have been moved to Liverpool, but there's still free music and family entertainment in Oldham.

Parklife, featuring Courtney Pine, The Stands, Nitin Sawhney, I Am Kloot, Desmond Dekker and more, has been arranged to celebrate the official opening of the refurbished Alexandra Park in the heart of the town.

Live music, street entertainment, community activities, fun run, a huge family picnic and even a giant Space Hopper race will combine to make this event one of the busiest Oldham has seen.

Saturday is a chilled-out day of street entertainment and laid-back sounds. Oldham Play Action Group will lead a series of fun children's activities, stilt-walkers The Baad Mutha Funkas are in town, there are amazing acrobatic skills care of The Black Eagles, and look out, too, for the Lawnmower Men - middle-aged gardeners gliding gamely on their motorised turf steeds!

All these and more madcap street entertainers will be performing in Alexandra Park and Oldham town centre. In the park's renovated conservatory, there are hot new jazz noises from The Carver Trio, traditional tunes from Dobcross Silver Band, junk percussion artists Weapons Of Sound, and youthful orchestration from Oldham Music Service.

Vibrant

The Revolution FM Roadshow will also be in the park and broadcasting live with sounds from six-piece reggae and soul act Dreadlion, big band tunes from the Alan Keane Latin Orchestra and vibrant noises from Oldham Bengali Band.

Melodic indie rockers Greg Rainey And The Feeling will be showing why they were recently crowned best unsigned band in Oldham.

Oldham's very own king of pop, Clint Boon, keyboard player with the Inspiral Carpets, is MC and DJ for Sunday and Monday's musical marathon.

Jazz saxophonist Courtney Pine headlines Sunday's line-up, which also features The Stands, reggae sounds from Sista, acclaimed world music maker and accomplished tabla player Sirish Kumar, and acoustic tales from singer-songwriter Kirk McElhinney.

Sunday also sees The Big Picnic with everyone invited to bring a hamper and enjoy an outdoor feast on an enormous picnic blanket. Bounce down to the park for the giant Space Hopper Race, groove the day away with Young Oldham Dance and run for fun in the Healthstart 5km Run.

Bank Holiday Monday's bonanza of music features Mercury Music prize nominee Nitin Sawhney, I Am Kloot, Wonderstuff frontman Miles Hunt, and the ska, rocksteady and reggae legend Desmond Dekker.

You can learn the secrets of the big top and clown around with Circus Sensible, make a racket with Oldham Percussion Academy, gasp in awe at the Giant Kangaroos, the biggest bouncing animals you'll ever see, and be entertained by the host of other crazy Parklife people on show to round off the weekend in style.

For more information, please call 0161 911 3070.

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