THEIR spectacular processions have been enjoyed by thousands of visitors to Greenhead Park.

And now a unique project is looking for families to give their memories of being part of the colourful Huddersfield Carnival and Asian Mela celebrations.

The Greenhead Stories oral history project aims to document the diverse array of memories people have of the park, which has undergone a multi-million pound restoration project.

The £4m revamp has renewed the grounds and provided better facilities for community groups.

Families have been asked to record their experiences of the part the park, which has been a gathering place for local people since it opened in 1884, has played in their lives.

Many have talked about their day to day experiences but now the man running the project wants to find out more about the cultural events that have taken place there.

Chris Webb, from the University of Huddersfield Centre for Life History Research, said: “Since this project started last year we have had a lot of people come and share their memories of this great park.

“It has been used by a wide variety of community groups and we know quite a bit about their everyday experiences and activities that take place there, like bowling and walks through the park.

“But now we’re looking to branch out and find out more about the experiences people have of the cultural events, like the Carnival and the Mela.

“These have played a really big part in the social history of the park over the years and we want to record people’s experiences of them.”

The Carnival and Mela have been an important part of the park’s summer event calendar for many years and involved thousands of performers and spectators.

The festivals aim to celebrate the rich diversity of the town and the park has been home to them since the mid-1980s.

Chris said: “The park is a meeting space and a place that brings people together for lots of different reasons.

“The Mela and the Carnival are huge and have put the town on the map for these kind of events.

“They are important to the communities who host them and play a big part in bringing different people together – so it would be great if they could come and tell us all about their experiences.

“We want as big a picture as possible. “We want personal stories, things like what people saw and heard, how this made them feel and why the day was important to them.”

A special Memory Bank phone line has been set up in the park where people can call in and record their memories.

The aim is use them as part of an audio tour.

The Friends of Greenhead Park are hosting a series of talks about the history of the park on the first Wednesday of each month from 12.30pm in the community room.

Tomorrow (Wednesday May 4) Chris will be talking about the oral history project.

Visitors will have the chance to share their own memories, photographs and memorabilia.