Cowley Road Carnival this year offers its biggest treat yet for music fans: hundreds of musicians and dancers will be performing at venues along the Cowley Road over the course of six hours.

There are two main stages, at Manzil Gardens and the Scrapyard Stage at The Car Park, Chapel Street. Headliners, The Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band, will be playing the Manzil Gardens stage from 5.00 pm, following a packed dance programme put together by Dancin’ Oxford, featuring Body Politic taking their inspiration from MINI Plant Oxford.

The Car Park will host the Scrapyard Stage where Dutty Moonshine will kick off with a mash-up collective of DJs lacing bass heavy sets with a vintage sound from noon. They will be followed by Count Skylarkin; DJ FU; Temple Funk Collective – an eight-piece Brass Section mixing modern tracks with New Orleans influences; and Zaia – a newly-formed East Oxford six-piece roots dub reggae band already making vibrations with their fresh sound. Last on stage are The Dublings, a five-piece Reggae/Dub/Rock band. Alongside the stage there will be a fully licensed bar and covered seating area, as well as fairground rides.

You can also see Count Drachma – led by Stornaway’s Oli and Rob Steadman – playing at Truck Store 2.00 pm.

Supported by funding from Oxford City Council and the Arts Council, and sponsors big and small, this year’s carnival theme is ‘Oxford Faces’ and around 700 people are expected to join the procession which starts with a lead group at 2.00 pm from The Plain at the Oxford end of the Cowley Road. At 2.15pm, when the rest of the procession join the road opposite the East Oxford Community Centre, the public will be asked to take a selfie with the people around them, and tweet to @CowleyCarnival #CarnivalSelfie or post to Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook.

There will be two outdoor licensed bars, on Manzil Gardens and in The Car Park, stalls and food epitomising the vibrancy and diversity of the Cowley Road area.

More details at www.cowleyroadcarnival.co.uk