FOOD was at the heart of festivities in Bolton this weekend.

On Sunday the Vishwa Hindu Parishad Temple opened its doors up to the public for a family fun food festival.

It is the first time the event has been held and it saw more than 300 people descend on Thomas Holden Street to help raise funds for Bolton Hindus’ Age Inspiration.

The day centre, which puts on activities for the over 50s, hosted the fun day of stalls, games and entertainment, welcoming people from the Hindu community and beyond.

Project co-ordinator Ila Kothari helped to organise the festival alongside volunteer Kala Kerai.

Miss Kothari said: “We wanted to have an event where the Hindu community could mingle with the rest of the local community.

“It went really well and everyone had lots of fun. We had a few of our neighbours who live in houses near the temple coming in.

“We are really pleased with how many people were coming in and saying we should do it again, it is only our first event and we organised it in two months with the help of lots of volunteers. We are really glad with how it went.”

“Our community centre is mainly aimed at the 50-plus so this was a way to get the rest of the community involved.

“One young couple, who were new to the town, said they had seen a post about the event on Facebook and came along as they wanted to get involved with the local Indian community, so they definitely came to the right place!”

The Mayor of Bolton Cllr Lynda Byrne cut the ribbon on proceedings in the afternoon, kicking off the festivities.

To spice up the day, there were food stalls featuring Indian cuisine, but visitors could also try Mexican, Italian and English dishes.

A group of dancers from the temple took to the stage to entertain crowds while stall spread out into the temple and over two car parks.

Children also got to enjoy a bouncy castle and plenty of fun and games at the event.