A classic Jurassic time for dino kids
Shoppers and visitors gathered in St John’s Square to see realistic puppet dinosaurs emerge from vans and roam around the area.
The line-up included a Tyrannosaurus Rex and an egg that hatched to reveal a baby dinosaur.
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Hide AdHowever, due to high winds, the free event was relocated to the Winter Gardens where stalls were set up and quizzes took place throughout the afternoon.
Eileen Ormand, Blackpool Town Centre and Business Improvement District (BID) Manager said: “Unfortunately we were stuck with the weather.
“As the dinosaurs had mechanical heads and were large in size, it was dangerous to keep them outside, so we had to bring the event to the Winter Gardens.
“It’s funny though, because the last time they were in Blackpool it was December and the wind speed was fine.
“You’d think it would be the other way round.”
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Hide AdThe dinosaurs were supposed to make an appearance in the Houndshill Centre, however it was too risky to transport them there. But many people still showed up to see the display.
“A lot of people came to town especially for the dinosaurs,” said Eileen. “ It was hard to get an exact number of how many people were there, as when some left others took their place.
“But when we were in St John’s Square, it could have easily been two to three hundred people.
“It wasn’t raining for most of the day and was quite sunny, so I think majority had a lovely time.
“It was just a shame about the wind.”
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Hide AdThe event was the latest staged by the BID group, designed to attract more people into the town centre.
Both adults and children enjoyed the spectacle and even had the opportunity to get a photograph with a Jeep from the Jurassic Park film set.
“My favourite part wasn’t the big dinosaurs but it was the little baby dinosaur in a crate,” said Eileen. “It was great to see the children’s faces when they saw it, I guess the big ones can be quite scary, but the smaller dinosaurs are easier for the little ones to cope with.
“It would be good to get more of them here with a larger variety of dinosaurs.
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Hide Ad“It was just the weather that had let us down and we can’t do anything about the weather.”
The next Blackpool BID event is Sci Fi-themed and is taking place this Saturday. Britain’s Got Talent’s Boogie Storm will open the day at 10am, followed by a viewing of The Force Awakens. Titan the robot will also make an appearance during the day.