ALTHOUGH we are slowly but surely prizing ourselves from the jaws of the pandemic, the dangers still linger, meaning one of the biggest events in the Inverclyde cultural calendar has been cancelled. Normally school kids and adults would be making final preparations to perform on the stage of Greenock Town Hall for the two-week-long Inverclyde Music Festival. All going well, we will see a return to something like normal next year but, until then, the following five pics might remind us of the fun the Inverclyde Music Festival brings to our community. Competition at the Inverclyde Music Festival is not confined to schools and adults, but youth organisations too. This picture shows talented Gourock Brownies with their hard-fought trophy after they scooped a coveted first in class at the festival in 2005.

THIS picture features the Greenock High School Percussion Ensemble after an early Saturday morning performance in which they came a close second to drumming aces St Stephen's High School.

TAKEN in the draughty carriageway of Greenock Town Hall, this shot shows children of Greenock's Glencairn Nursery after they won the David L Boyd Trophy. The kids performed 'The Whole World in His Hands' to take first place in the pre-school singing games class.

THANKS to required social distancing measures, it is hard to imagine a scene like this in the town soon. The hope remains though, that things will improve sufficiently to allow for crowds to gather and watch as children perform on-stage next time around.

OVERTON Primary School pupil Ryan Murdoch got a chance to don Provost Ciano Rebecchi's chain of office during an official visit. The Provost came along to the school to praise the efforts of the young people of Inverclyde who took part in the Inverclyde Music Festival back in 2006.