THE three day Shipley Street Arts Festival kicked off with the unveiling of specially crafted artwork celebrating the town.

Numerous local schools attended the opening day of the free festival today, which is held in Shipley Market Square, and despite early drizzle, the day still proved to be a great start to the celebration of art in public places.

Pupils got to enjoy some of the street performers, from scientist Percy Veers and his robot creations to a colony of bees.

Schools and other local groups had helped decorate large 3D letter spelling Shipley, and the piece was revealed in the market car park this morning.

Headlining tomorrow and Sunday's acts are Peter Sweet and David Poznanter’s acclaimed circus act BOOM! and top puppeteer Lori Hopkins with her show The Explorer, and there will also be acts travelling around the town centre during the weekend.

This year’s theme is exploration and the event has been sponsored by the Arts Council, Shipley Town Centre Partnership and the town’s Ibis hotel, and is being delivered by local group Q20 Events.

Scott Clarke, from organisers Q20 Arts, said: “The day has gone brilliantly. Today was mainly school groups, with shows and workshops running from the morning, one teacher told me what a wonderful day the kids had.”

To coincide with the event a two day craft fair started in Shipley Indoor Market today.