MORRIS dancers will be hot-stepping their way down Coronation Street when a taste of East Lancashire comes to one of the North West's top tourist attractions.

For Friday April 26 to Sunday April 28 is Blackburn Weekend, at Manchester's Granada Studios.

It will kick off when Blackburn Mayor Coun Maureen Bateson, meets Bryan Mosley, alias Alf Roberts - the programme's former mayor.

She will take tea with him on Baker Street, while Darwen morris dancers dance their way down the Street at about 1pm.

There will also be exhibitions at the event, organised as part of Celebration '96, including a display of the tourist attractions in Blackburn and the region. A spokesman for Granada Studios said: "We hope that lots of people from Blackburn and the surrounding areas visit the studios during the weekend."

Tony Openshaw, marketing manager at Blackburn's Community and Leisure Services, said: "We are trying to create interesting exhibitions so that people who walk into the studios from other parts surrounding Greater Manchester will understand about Blackburn and, hopefully, we will tempt them to come to the region."

Readers of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph can visit the studios at a special discount rate this weekend.

Our studio tour offer entitles people to £3 off the £12.99 adult or £8.99 children's entrance fee from this coming Friday until Sunday.

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