From a Michael Jackson tribute and a troupe of exotic circus dancers to a giant firecracker – the Trowbridge Carnival exploded into colour on Saturday night to thrill thousands of spectators.

The clouds opened up for most of the day in Wiltshire's county town, dampening proceedings after the carnival's was opened at 10am by Mayor John Knight. The Extravaganza Day in the town's park – with a variety of music, dancing, displays, stalls and fair rides – was a largely soggy, if spirited, affair. As the evening approached, the scores who were preparing to take part in the grand procession were bracing themselves for a further deluge.

A severe outburst of rain delayed the 7pm start but, miraculously, the downpour ceased shortly after the procession began.

For 90 minutes it swayed around Trowbridge town centre as people lined the streets clapping, singing and throwing cash into charity collection buckets in aid of the West Wiltshire Branch for the National Autistic Society.

Carnival spokeswoman Maryrose Mantle said: "It went really, really well – especially when you look at all the rain we had during the day. There was a fantastic variety of floats this year. A lot of local groups entered and lots of youngsters took part, which was really nice."

"An incredible amount of work went into the costumes and floats. There was a very, very heavy downpour shortly before it was about to start, but they weren't going to let the rain spoil it all Thankfully, the rain actually stopped as the carnival got going."

One of the biggest rounds of applause went to the Gillingham-based Hotrod Carnival Club whose Firecracker float illuminated the night. It scooped both the Spectator's Choice Cup and the President's Cup. The Best Costume trophy went to another fiery contestant – Heftia, Goddess of Fire.

The class winners were: Class One, Firecracker by the Hotrock Carnival Club; Class Two, Alamo by Southern Charities; Class Three, Little Minis by Rob Mills; Class Four, The Newtown Pirates by Seesaw; Class Five (no entries); Class Six, The Toy Box by Cara Peerman; Class Seven, Cirque Du Soleil by Avril Beresford; Class Eight, The Mad Hatter by Joe Wilkinson; Class Nine, Bat out of Hell; Class 10, Tiffany – A plume of colour; Class 11, Esprit by West Wilts Gym Club; Class 12, Thriller; Class 13, Spooky Choo Express; Class 14, Danc-Ta-Tion by En-Spirted; Class 15, Asda.com.