ART has been popping up all around town as last weekend marked the launch of this year’s Basingstoke Festival.

Following the theme of Art In Unusual Places, this year’s festival features a whole host of unusual and interactive events happening throughout the town.

Things got underway on Friday at the Top of The Town where a live 3D version of the timeless classic game of Hangman took place outside the Willis museum.

Children were selected to pick a letter as the L_ve Hangman performers waited to see if they were right or wrong. Some participants purposely guessed wrong to see what would happen to the floating puppet inside the booth.

Shortly after the daring antics of Dick Danger entertaining the crowd with pole dancing and showcasing incredible feats of strength, climbing up a 20ft pole with no safety harnesses.

Dick ended his performance with his famous finale diving headfirst into a bucket of water.

Elsewhere at the Walled Gardens, the Protean’s presented their unique take on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

The crowd were transported to the holiday camp of Illyria where there were picnics, bingo and knobbly knee contests were aplenty.

Things officially got underway on Saturday, 16 June when Basingstoke Together hosted a free activities and fun creative workshops with street performers and live music.

This included a giant life size inflatable sperm whale where children could climb inside and hear swashbuckling tales from pirates and meet a glamorous mermaid.

Basingstoke Festival continues until Sunday, 8 July.

For a full list of events taking place, go to basingstokefestival.co.uk.