Photos: Margate Carnival organisers hold fun-filled day in place of town parade

Picture: Frank Leppard

Margate Carnival may not have gone ahead this year but that hasn’t stopped organisers putting on quite the show for families.

A special day was held today (August 1) with stalls, entertainment and a community carnival procession in place of the annual event.

Picture: Photography With Evangeline @photographywithevangeline

Organisers said with only a short period between the lifting of government Covid restrictions and the town’s carnival, it wasn’t safe or practical to run this year’s parade as normal.

Instead, a free family fun day was put on by the team behind the 120-year-old Margate Carnival on the field at Drapers Mills Primary.

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Picture: Frank Leppard

A Doorstep Carnival also took place around Dane Valley bringing characters including swans, bees, and butterflies to residential streets, so families could watch from their front step.

Picture: Frank Leppard

There was also a stage for local musicians, dance schools and theatre groups to showcase their work. 

This included Treble Performing Arts, Stage Door Arts Academy, JoJo’s School of Dance & Performing Arts, Silver Slipper and Off The Hook Productions.

Picture: Carl Hudson

Community groups, social enterprises and independent businesses had stalls and food was provided by Our Kitchen.

To end the event, Great British Carnival – which ran carnival making workshops all afternoon – ran a procession around the site.

Margate Carnival, which attracts crowds in excess of 25,000 people, would normally see the town brought to a standstill as the procession of 70 local clubs, groups, and small businesses travel from Palm Bay to Westbrook.

Margate Carnival will not take place this summer