We Shine Portsmouth gets off to a stellar start as crowds come to see The Museum of The Moon and more on its opening night

From attractions in Paulsgrove, through Alexandra Park in Hilsea, past St Mary’s Church and its grounds in Fratton, via futuristic disco and glowing bugs in Victoria Park in the city centre, and immersive theatre with Octopuses and Other Sea Creatures in Portsmouth Cathedral in Old Portsmouth, there was plenty to keep the curious entertained.

Following a successful debut last year, the creative arts spectacular is back, bigger and bolder with more attractions across more locations, over three days from Thursday to Saturday – and it’s all free.

Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon at St Marys Church is one of the festival’s centre-pieces – a seven-metre-wide floating moon featuring detailed NASA maps of its surface.

Lee Payne, 30, had walked from his home in Fratton to check it out after a friend saw it advertised on Facebook. He said: ‘This is brilliant - we missed it last year. Sometimes you forget about the good things going on on your own doorstep, so it’s good to get out to things like this. I think we’ll be going to check out Victoria Park too.’

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And it was a family outing for Craig and Penny Marsh from North End with daughters Ivy, nine, and Winter, four. Mum Penny said: ‘We’ve just come from the Christmas lights switch on in Commercial Road and we went through Victoria Park too – it’s all been very good. The moon is really quite something, it’s amazing.’

Nicola Hay, illustration lecturer at University of Portsmouth helped create the Illustrated Menagerie augmented reality scavenger hunt which is part of We Shine, and was at St Mary’s to see the moon. She said: ‘I came last year and thought, I like this! So when the call was put out for ideas this year, I pitched this and was accepted. It’s been a lot of work but it’s great to be part of this.’

Most elements of We Shine run across all three evenings, but on Friday only there is the Lantern Parade through Fratton, which departs from Victory Business Centre in Somers Road North at 6pm.

For more details about all of the exhibitions, shows and displays, go to weshineportsmouth.co.uk.