THERE were costume capers and fanciful dresses galore on Tuesday evening as Melrose Festival held its annual Fancy Dress Parade in Gibson Park.

Close to a record entry turned the picturesque park into a colourful carnival arena.

Melrosian Russell Mackay, dressed as Batman, presented rosettes and vouchers to the delighted section winners.

And, throughout the evening, he was ably assisted by his Transformer Right-Hand and Left-Hand men, Struan Hutchison and Donald Crawford.

Hundreds of children, in pairs, groups and even individually, made huge efforts to impress.

Several brought along their best friends for the Me and My Pet section.

And more than a handful of adults joined in the fun.

Festival chairman Michael Crawford told us: "Every year I'm amazed by the amount of work and effort that goes into the costumes.

"We have a fantastic group of stewards and organisers who make sure our fancy dress is such a success."

As with any competition, there can only be one winner.

Cadha Smyth's Melrose adaptation of the Julia Donaldson classic, Room on the Broom, won the Individual Pre-school category.

It was Florence Munro's creative Rainbow which caught the judges' eyes in the Individual Primary 1 to Primary 3 section.

Continuing the girls' dominance was Ellie Finlay, as Alice in Wonderland, to win the Individual Primary 4 to Primary 7 section.

The Pre-school Group section is always hotly contested, and this year the winners were the Dean Park Devils with their very own zoo.

Nell Ketteridge, Isla Gillespie, Jess Knox, Lucy Brown and Libby Ketteridge appealed for Peas on Earth to win the Primary 1 to Primary 3 Group prize.

And the cheerleading Melrose girls, Ilona, Lauren, Gemma, Emily, Anna, Amy and Anna, won the Primary 4 to Primary 7 Group category.

The amazing Melrose Mime, featuring Andy Purves and his friends, won the Mixed Group prize.

Great minds and all that came to the fore in the Me and My Pet competition with two sets of Dorothy, Toto, Tinman, et al, lining up for the judges.

After much deliberation it was Eva, Melissa, Tallia, Madison and Daisy the dog who followed the Yellow Brick Road to the winner's enclosure.

Melrose Brownies raided their grannies' wardrobes to take the Community Group prize as Old Melrose.

And it was Rachel Fourie and Kerry Wright, along with their Melrose Merchants friends, who drove away with the Floats section.

Individual Pre-school: 1st Melrose Room on the Broom Witch - Cadha Smyth, 2nd Bunch of Grapes - Ruby Jackson, 3rd Hola Dancer - Isla Lackie.

Individual P1-3: 1st Rainbow with Florence Munro, 2nd School of Rock - Sophie Gillie, 3rd Rainbow Butterfly - Zoe Edmondson.

Individual P4-7: 1st Alice in Wonderland - Ellie Finlay, 2nd Fishtweed.co.uk - Connor Henderson, 3rd Horrid Henry - Troy Finlay.

Pre-school Couples and Groups: 1st Dear Zoo - Dean Park Devils, 2nd Honey I Shrunk the Melrose Week - Gibson Park Playgroup.

P1-3 Couples and Groups: 1st Peas on Earth - Nell Ketteridge, Jess Knox, Isla Gillespie, Libby Ketteridge and Lucy Brown, 2nd Talk about Miracle Grow - Belle Douglas and Emma Dyer, 3rd Jack and Victor - Jamie Gillespie and Robin Bryson.

P4-7 Couples and Groups: 1st Melrose 7s - Ilona, Gemma, Anna, Amy, Anna, Emily and Lauren, 2nd Super Mario - Morgan and Beth, 3rd= Melrose Dragons - Grace and Eleanor, 3rd = Where’s Wally - Ailsa, Maya, Vikki, Amelia, Holly, Caitlyn, Cara, Eva and Jemima.

Mixed Groups and Couples: 1st Melrose Mime - Andy Purves and friends, 2nd Fairways Crazy Golfers - Wayne Mitchell and friends, 3rd = Mini Lions on Tour - Rory, Daniel and Emma Sun, 3rd= Posh Ladies - Annie, Emilie and Charlotte Brown.

Me & My Pet: 1st The wizards of MelrOZe - Eva, Melissa, Tallia, Madison and Daisy, 2nd Land of Oz - Elphaba, Glinda and Finlay the Flying Monkey, 3rd Fairy & Unicorn - Sophie and Monty.

Community Groups: 1st Old Melrose - Melrose Brownies, 2nd Big Dipper - Big Space.

Floats and Motorised Vehicles: 1st Melrose Merchants - Rachel Fourie, Kerry Wright and friends, 2nd= - Melrose in Bloomers - Melrose in Bloom, 2nd= Melrose in Bloom - Lexie Hume, Bryn McAree and Isla McAree, 3rd Theresa and Trump - Mr and Mrs Morton.