A scarecrow, a ‘tank,’ Ukrainian ‘flower girls’ and zebras were amongst the colourful entries to this year’s Ramsgate carnival.
Organised by Great British Carnival the procession, which wound its way from Government Acre to the town and back, also featured giant bears, carnival courts, the Salvation Army, Hooden Horses causing mischief, drummers, musicians and a host of other characters.
Teresa Askew, from Great British Carnival, said: “Such a great big thanks to all our paraders, and to all the people who came out to support us and put a pound in the bucket or the Gofundme.
“I am happy to report it was a peaceful, happy carnival with no incidents.
“I’m just taking a moment to reflect on all the lovely people and costumes before we start planning for even bigger and better next year.”
There was also a weekend of entertainment on Government Acre which included the Kent Giants, Sam and Flora, Esmerelda the dragon and other discordant comicals alongside Robert Mayne’s traditional funfair and a variety of stalls.
The parade route this year was shorter, making it much easier to walk and dance the whole way round.
Teresa Askew, who has been heading up the Ramsgate Carnival and Fair Committee for three years, said: “The original longer route made it very difficult to keep the Carnival together, so every year there had been complaints about the delays.
“Completely understandable, it’s not much fun for the paraders either. The cause is the steepness of Madeira Walk. Stewards hold back every float at the bottom on Madeira Walk until the first float has cleared the whole section. This is because that stretch of road is so steep there is a real danger of burning out your clutch if you travel up it too slowly. This inevitably leads to larger gaps opening up with long waits for people up at the East Cliff Bandstand.
“By the time the tail end of the Carnival was travelling up Westcliff Road, in previous years we observed that there wasn’t really much of an audience left to appreciate their presentations.
“A shorter route means a more tightly formed parade which we anticipate will be more fun for paraders and audiences. It may take time for the new route to be established and for people to realise they have to come into the Town to see the parade so we hope that people
will tell all their friends and family.
“We also realise that it has become much more difficult and expensive to put a big float in the Carnival. The days when you could borrow a firm’s lorry and everyone could jump on the back are long gone. It’s expensive for people to hire a lorry and to comply with the current
Health and Safety regulations which are far tighter than they used to be.
“We really hope that over time, in years to come, we will see more walking and dancing entries with electric vehicles and hand pulled floats as we are committed to developing this event every year that we do it.”
Ramsgate Carnival is supported by Ramsgate Town Council, Great British Carnival and Gadds Brewery.
There is a crowdfunder for anyone else who would like to contribute to help cover costs: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-ramsgate-carnival-and-fair
