MORE than 4,000 people attended the launch weekend of the Contemporary Arts Festival when the 'Moon' landed in Warrington.

Luke Jerram's Museum of the Moon – an exact replica of Earth's Moon made using NASA imagery and measuring seven metres in diameter – opened to the public on Friday.

On the same day, light and sound installations illuminated Queens Gardens alongside street performers for the first Light Night.

Friday saw the launch of the Contemporary Arts Festival's open competition too while last year's winner Marie Jones unveiled her first solo exhibition at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery.

Over the weekend there were also performances by 2Faced Dance Company, a silent disco under the Moon and 'Make Fest' where youngsters learnt about the likes of robotics and coding.

Leah Biddle, cultural manager of Culture Warrington, who is leading the festival, said: “The opening weekend of this year’s festival has just been amazing. I really could not have hoped for it to have gone any better.

“Friday night’s Light Night was fantastic. The installations and performers were all such high-quality and really engaged with the public and it was wonderful to see so many people enjoying Museum of the Moon.

“The highlight for me was seeing so many families enjoying themselves through art and culture, which is the main objective we wanted to achieve with this year’s Contemporary Arts Festival.

“I’ve received so much positive feedback from people who enjoyed our events in the town centre, at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery and at Parr Hall and the best news is there’s still so much more to come.

“From our sell-out yoga sessions on Tuesday, through to our film screenings of ET and Apollo 13 on Sunday, we’ve still got so much for you to enjoy.

“I’m particularly looking forward to our Art Battle on Saturday. We’ve got 10 fantastic artists lined up for an intense 30 minute challenge under the moon, live entertainment, a full bar and delicious food options! It’s going to be a fantastic night out.”