Giant inflatables floating over The Pond and a dance performed on a transparent stage on The Parade, are just two of the performances on offer in the town centre during Imagine Watford. Billed as ‘a festival of extraordinary moments’ and compiled by Watford Palace’s creative team, the two-week event features outdoor happenings along the High Street stretching from Clarendon Road to the bandstand beside Watford Library. There are 80 performances and 100 artists involved and all the events are free.

The festival is the first of a series of initiatives envisaged for the town by Watford Cultural Leaders Group.

Dan Dark, senior vice president and managing director of Warner Bros Leavesden is a member of the group. He says: “It’s a wonderful opportunity to drive forward the cultural opportunities in our town and demonstrates the power of street art to transform places.”

Watford Palace’s executive director Mathew Russell has been on hand to give expert advice of staging a festival of this scale. Prior to joining the Palace in 2009, he spent eight years running the Greenwich + Docklands Festival, turning it into a world-renowned event. Now he is bringing his wealth of experience to Imagine Watford.

“What’s been fantastic about this is that we’ve had the opportunity to select the very best international street art from the UK and around the world and giving it our own unique twist by introducing local and regional content,” says Mathew.

To this end, several of the practitioners have moved into or around the town.

Rifco Arts has just taken up residency at the theatre and will present a high-octane dance performance previewing its work in progress, Break Da Floorboards, out on the streets.

Dance enthusiasts will also be fascinated by two aquatic shows taking place around The Pond – Seasaw by Tilted Productions and Let’s Get Wet by Factoria Mascaro.

Meanwhile, Metis Arts is using studio space at the Palace to develop its show 3rd Ring Out: The Emergency in which members of the public have to make decisions that drive the work forward.

The BBC Concert Orchestra is also making its contribution by hosting an open-air concert featuring 12 members of the ensemble. Another musical delight will be the 200-strong concert of children’s voices, organised by Hertfordshire Music Service working with schoolchildren from across the county.

Slightly further afield, 30 Bird Productions is currently camped out in a hanger at Elstree Studios working with the Palace’s Community Choir, who will act as a chorus to guide the audience through their piece, which will take place in an army truck on Watford High Street.

For visitors wishing to experience more traditional drama there will also be performances of Samuel Beckett’s Act Without Words II but don’t expect to watch it from the stalls, after meeting in the foyer this moving piece about homelessness will be on the pavements.

Lots of things and people will fly above our heads – look out for the ethereal parade as Compagnie des Quidams perform Herbert’s Dream, see the Heliosphere spinning in the sky or glimpse animals swinging through the trees as the Foundation For Indian Arts present Deception In The Forest.

So what’s Mathew most looking forward to?

“Strange Fruit performing The Three Belles,” he says, adding: “The whole delight of this festival is that every piece has different appeal to different people, there’s something for everybody.”

Imagine Watford runs from Monday, June 20 to Sunday, July 3. Details: 01923 225671, www.imaginewatford.co.uk