Ramsgate Carnival Parade on 26
July was a joyous event, led by Great British Carnival CIC who worked closely
with the local community to unlock a giant wave of creativity and playfulness
in the town.
At the front of the Parade was
a stunning giant spirit tree performance, directed and commissioned by Great
British Carnival. The tree was accompanied by an eclectic mix of jesters,
spectacular costumes and performances as well as Hooden Horses and Samba
Ya Wantsum, putting smiles on faces along the whole parade. At one point this
group led a wonderful conga dance in front of the harbour with the crowd and
the carnival performers dancing together. Spectators fell in love with
the tree which was completely entrancing.
Teresa
Askew, artistic director, said, “as well as the artworks Great British Carnival
have developed for the Ramsgate Carnival, we are delighted to see that our
community outreach programme in Ramsgate, which has been running for several
years now, is bearing fruit. One example of this is the support we have
provided to an
inclusive art group who meet every Monday at Arts in Ramsgate, Happy
Mondays, to help them develop their carnival arts skills over a period of
years. We were dazzled and amazed to see them this year - dressed in cardboard
costumes they had made - as a Model Town of Ramsgate! Happy Mondays won the
prize for the most eco-friendly entry.
Another
highlight was the prize winning entry from the
Ukrainian Community in Thanet who had been inspired to make their own giant,
after being invited by Great British Carnival to take part in the St George’s
Parade earlier this year, as
St George is an iconic and important saint for Ukrainians too and they helped
create a Giant Ukrainian St George puppet. For the Carnival, they were inspired to produce a giant Motanka. A Motanka is a traditional
Ukrainian protective doll, a symbol of family, wellbeing, continuity of
generations and the strength of the Ukrainian spirit. Nadia from the group
explained “The idea to create a spectacular giant Motanka inspired so many
members of our community and gave everyone an opportunity to contribute their
talents to a shared project. Together, we created this beauty entirely from
scratch. The journey began with a welded metal frame. Our talented craft club
members then built the body and handmade clothing around it. The outer skirt
was beautifully hand-painted by a gifted artist with symbolic Ukrainian motifs:
red poppies, sunflowers, elderberry clusters, and golden wheat. The necklace
was assembled by hand, as were the flowers for the traditional Ukrainian
wreath. Even our children joined in, helping to create the long braided hair.
We are incredibly proud of what we achieved together and were delighted to
share our creation in the Carnivalo parade, celebrating culture, creativity, friendship,
and community.”
Prizes were awarded to those groups the judges felt demonstrated
the most originality, creativity,
craftsmanship and effort and overall impact. The Judges were Ramsgate Town
Mayor, Raushan Ara, Ramsgate Neighbourhood Board Chair, Bernie Morgan and
international artist Jessie Voorsanger. All enjoyed meeting all the groups and
were very impressed with the quality and diversity of the entrants this
year.
Participants also received a Heart of Carnival certificate for
being part of the parade. Teresa Askew explained - “Carnival is all about the
people who volunteer to be in the parade and make it a joyous event for the
community. We
felt it was important to recognise everyone’s commitment. We had such a gloriously diverse and fun
range of groups taking part. Together they were our Heart of Carnival! Their
commitment and creativity was outstanding and this year’s Ramsgate Carnival
Parade was an achievement that everyone involved can be very proud of.
The
Salvation Army children’s group had an inspired Noah’s Ark theme which won the
best decorated float.
Local Community Samba band, Samba Ya Wantsum scooped the best
band prize. Organisers would love to see more bands coming forward to take part
next year - as well as more community groups and businesses.
Miss Ramsgate and the Kent Courts were all in attendance and had
travelled from all over Kent with the girls in their beautiful, dignified
regalia adding a strong heritage element to this traditional carnival which was
celebrating its 103rd anniversary. Great British Carnival presented each
of the Courts with a Heart of Carnival certificate to celebrate the important
contribution they make each year - and each of the girls was presented with a
red rose.
Hornets
Boxing Club demonstrated boxing moves throughout the parade, showcasing what a
fun way to keep fit boxing.
The KSS Air Ambulance presentation had created a special
place-specific song and dance for the occasion and performed in and around an
adapted mobility scooter.
Two local businesses, Boden’s Beach Huts and Archie’s Fish and
Chips brought the disco tunes with a seaside themed disco float to round off
the parade and had everyone dancing again.
The Carnival will be at the same time next year - the last
weekend in July. Get thinking now if your group or business would like to take
part.
Contact info@gbcarnival.co.uk
Website:
gbcarnival.co.uk/ramsgate-carnival-and-fair.html