Welcome to the Newbury Carnival website!

The Newbury Carnival Team are currently enjoying a summer break, but thoughts of carnivals are never very far away.  Jacquie and Andrew have just seen some of Weymouth Carnival (pictured right), which was apparently very successful.  Well done to all involved.

If you have been to other carnivals and perhaps picked up good ideas which we could try here in Newbury, please drop us an email.  Don’t forget that you can contact us at newburycarnival@gmail.com.

Even during the holidays, the Carnival Team are always pleased to hear from you!

What a fantastic evening!  Many thanks to all those who took part in the Carnival Concert – you were all stars!  Also to Arthur, Alex and Gaynor for their organisation and hard work behind the scenes.  There is certainly plenty to celebrate in Newbury.

If you haven’t bought your copy of the Newbury Carnival CD yet, please contact Arthur on (01635) 34738 or 07789 010198.

Don’t miss this year’s Carnival Concert, which is taking place on Friday 25th June, 7:30-11:00pm at ACE Space, Newbury.  The concert features local singers Ian Collins Sounds, Trac, Lucy & Kelly and recent X-Factor participants, Father & Son, all of whom are helping to raise money for Newbury Carnival 2011.  Organiser Arthur Johnson said “We’re so lucky to have singers of such talent living locally.  It’s great to be able to celebrate their success and help the Carnival at the same time.  This should be a great night.”

Tickets are £5.00, available online by clicking here to visit the We Got Tickets website (an online booking fee of 50p will be charged per ticket).   Alternatively phone Arthur on (01635) 34738 or 07789 010198.  A CD including tracks by all the artists performing at the concert will be available to buy on the night.

The date of the 2011 Carnival – Sunday 10th July – was publically announced on Monday.  As Carnival Chairman Bryan Harper said in this week’s Newbury Weekly News, we’ve already had considerable interest in next year’s event, which is fantastic.  We know that lots of people are already thinking about their entries.  Hopefully you can now make a note of this date and begin making plans for next summer.

At the moment, we don’t know whether the Carnival Fete will take place in Victoria Park or Northcroft Park.  Both venues have proved popular in previous years.  Much depends on the developments in Park Way over the next few months and we will let you know, when we know where the fete will be.  But wherever it is, the 2011 Newbury Carnival and Fete is sure to be a great day out for all.

A quick hello to everyone we saw at the 2010 Volunteer Fair at the Corn Exchange and an enormous thank you to Garry Pouslon and the team at Volunteer Centre West Berkshire for organising the event.  It was lovely to see so many ‘friends’ of the Carnival and to meet lots of new people.  We hope you will all be able to join in the fun of Newbury Carnival 2011.

We have now added two online forms to our website.  If you would like to join our lively and enthusiastic team of volunteers who RUN the Carnival please click here to find out more and submit your details.

If you would like to register an interest to TAKE PART in Newbury Carnival 2011, please click here and complete the form.  We will then add you to our mailing list and send you priority updates about the date, theme and other details of next year’s Carnival, as well as keeping you in touch with developments and events we will be running during 2010.

A very Happy New Year to all from everyone at Newbury Carnival!

Although there won’t be a Carnival Parade in 2010, we still have plenty going on and we would LOVE you to be a part of it.

Members of the Carnival Team will be at the Volunteer Fair at The Corn Exchange, Newbury, on Saturday 16th January, 10am-3pm. Come and find us there and discover more about what is happening this year.  If you can spare any time to help – either on the day of the next Carnival Parade or at other events between now and then – we would love to talk to you.  And if you can’t make the Volunteer Fair, don’t forget that you can always send us an email: newburycarnival@gmail.com.

We’re looking forward to seeing you again in 2010.

The hot, sunny day of Newbury Carnival 2009 seemed a very long way away last Friday, as Carnival Queen attendant Ellie Bridger-Wilkinson joined Father Christmas in his procession through the streets of Newbury.  Father Christmas was here to switch on the town’s Christmas lights.  A large and enthusiastic crowd filled the Market Place and – after weeks of rain and thanks to some clever work behind the scenes by Newbury Town Council – it even ’snowed’!

Well it may be nearly mid-winter but the Carnival Team is still busy.  Later this week we will be meeting to sort out dates for some of the ideas proposed for events in 2010.  If you have any suggestions for these or if you can spare a little time to join the team during the coming months, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.  New members are always welcome.

Following on from the huge success of Newbury Carnival 2009, Carnival Team members decided that the Parade should run every two years.  We think there are lots of good reasons for this.

Here’s what we said in our press release:

The next Newbury Carnival Parade will take place in summer 2011. At the recent Newbury Carnival Annual General Meeting, members agreed to keep the current two year gap in order to allow more time for fund raising, planning and organising what has become Newbury’s biggest community event.

Commenting on the decision, Carnival Chairman, Bryan Harper said, “We had record numbers participating this year and record crowds watching, making it a huge challenge to follow this. Formally establishing this as a biennial event will allow us the opportunity to make it bigger and better than ever for 2011”.

Jennie Simmons, who was part of the Royal British Legion float this year said, “This is a brilliant idea. We appreciate the huge efforts which go into organising this event, which has grown tremendously in recent years. We would really like to take part again next time and this will give us more time to organise our participation.”

Although there will not be a parade in 2010, there will still be a programme of Carnival events held throughout next year. A detailed programme is currently being drawn up and will be announced early in the New Year.

Newbury Carnival is run entirely by volunteers and is always seeking new members. Anyone who is interested in joining the Carnival Team is very welcome. Please contact Newbury Carnival Secretary, Jacquie Cooper, at newburycarnival@gmail.com.