IT'S samba, sports and spectacle on Saturday as the colour and music of Rio come to the Dalgety Bay and Hillend Gala!

Mardi Gras is the theme for this year's event, which will celebrate the Olympics being held in the Brazilian city known for the glitziest show on earth.

Bikers will add plenty of vroom to the day, leading off the gala procession – and thanks to the power of the Press, the Royal Burgh of Inverkeithing Pipe Band have offered to play in the parade as well after we told you about the gala's appeal for help.

The procession starts from Dalgety Parish Church at 11.30am and heads to the Dalgety Bay Sports Centre, where the official opening takes place at noon.

Visitors will get to enjoy several family-friendly activities, including bungee jumping, zorbing, moonwalking, giant slides, and a climbing wall, as well as food and community stalls.

Gala chair Cat Moyes beamed: “The Inverkething Pipe Band offered to play for us for nothing off the back of the Press' articles, because they could see the gala was in trouble.

“We've put an extra hour into the gala this year, which runs from noon to 4.30pm. The weather's booked – it looks amazing for the weekend and for the team setting up.

“The gala's for ages one to 99 – we've basically blown the budget and gone all out!”

Since the appeal went out, Cat said residents had come forward to lend a helping hand.

She said: “We've had some great community support – when we did our leaflet drop, I put an appeal out on Facebook around 8am and before lunchtime, we had half the Bay covered.

“It's been a hard year but all the wee things have made the difference. We've had people turning up and asking if they can help and do little things on the day and people have been very generous in terms of what they're charging us for stuff.

“Fife Council and the police have pulled out all the stops and been really helpful, and a big thank you to Julia Munro and her team at the sports centre.”

The fun kicks off on tomorrow night (Friday) with a Mardi Gras Party at the sports centre from 6pm to 10.30pm.

There will be a magician and a bucking bronco, plus music from Boj and Clark, as well as “super” prizes in the raffle on offer. Bring your own drink (no glass).

Tickets cost £5 and can be reserved from Walkers Opticians or on Facebook. Kids go free but must be accompanied by an adult.