Thousands flocked to Bristol Harbourside this weekend for BrisFest 2011.

The festival which began in 2007, took over 12 locations across the city to host local music talent, art and circus exhibitions.

This year, the organisers expanded the festival after seeing increasing popularity year by year. The venue for the weekend had a capacity of 30,000 people, with stages catering for everyone's music needs such as reggae, ska, rock and dubstep.

BrisFest opened gates to people as young as five years old to enjoy the festivities with plenty of things to do including the 360 degrees visual Recursive Function Interaction Dome bringing the raving experience to another level.

Bristol favourites Laid Blak took to the Wolf's Stage on Friday giving a performance that can only be described as energetic and the perfect band to kick off the weekend. Fireworks went off just before Laid Blak performed, signalling the beginning of this year's festival.

The most popular stage of the weekend was the Weapon of Choice stage hosting a variety of mixes and Dubstep performances, reeling in crowds left, right and centre throughout the evening. Engine Earz Experiment exhibited a flawless live Dubstep performance attracting people of all ages.

The acoustic stage, inside the beer garden, was the favourite during the day presenting a variety of acts giving festival goers the opportunity to sit back and enjoy the atmosphere in the sun.

Outside Lloyds Amphitheatre, stalls of arts and crafts were displayed with many handmade masterpieces. One stall boasted recycled vinyls, lego and bike tyres all made into something original and new.

Charity Oxfam also had their part to play, inviting all musicians of all genres to their Oxjam stage to raise money for the charity. Each performance was well rehearsed entertaining people attending the festival and those just passing by.

The festival has never been afraid to welcome quirky characters which this year proved very popular. These included: gorillas, wind-up dolls and a dance troop showing off their skills.

Traders were also in high demand with food stalls serving world cuisines and fashion stalls selling handmade goods. Flower halos were a popular purchase as well as the face painting.

Drink sponsors Sailor Jerry's hosted a boat party on board The Matthew which sold out quickly much to the disappointment of people who wanted to attend. Other sponsors included: Nokia Music, GDS International, Smirnoff, Domino's pizza, Redrow Homes, Nuffield Health, Red Stripe, Subway, Mainline Employment, South West Screen, Central Presentations, Bristol City Council, South West Group, The Gryphon, Factory Studios, UWE, U-Drive, Trade It, Bristol Gas and Absolute Guitars.

Overall the festival organisers hosted a successful event once again with 2012 expecting to be an even bigger triumph with hopes of hosting BrisFest at Ashton Court.

Check out the photos from Brisfest in our galleries