Thousands line the streets for Colchester Carnival (From Gazette)

pingu says...
9:41pm Sat 30 Jun 12

wow is all i can say, it was Crap. No bands, no carnival queen. iTS WAS THE MOST BORING event ive ever been too. This town CANOT Do carnivals. Little villages do the best and yes other towns once again let down. £2 for a make a animal balloon. years ago when i used to go carnival things like that were given out free. Waste of time wont be going again.

Report this post »

Patman99 says...
9:49pm Sat 30 Jun 12

I'll second that. Big build-up in the press, then BIG disappointment when the 'parade' actually passed-by.

Where were the Carnival Queens?. No marching bands (apart from a local Samba band). Might I suggest next year they invite the Scouts, Guides and Boys Brigade to help organise the Carnival?. At least these groups know how to put-on a good show.

Report this post »

ShallowRemarks says...
10:32pm Sat 30 Jun 12

pingu wrote:
wow is all i can say, it was Crap. No bands, no carnival queen. iTS WAS THE MOST BORING event ive ever been too. This town CANOT Do carnivals. Little villages do the best and yes other towns once again let down. £2 for a make a animal balloon. years ago when i used to go carnival things like that were given out free. Waste of time wont be going again.

Cant understand what made you go this time, you didn't expect it to be good surely?

Report this post »

Mr Honest says...
10:52pm Sat 30 Jun 12

Glad I didnt go but everyone I spoke to who did go said it was awful. No more carnivals please. Pointless and unenjoyable and just cause disruption.

Report this post »

joanna stockwell says...
10:54pm Sat 30 Jun 12

Maybe next year you should enter, you may then realise how much work goes into preparing for the carnival, we were in it and got loads of applause and everyone seemed to be enjoying it, we were near the front and then watched the rest of the carnival come in and we all really enjoyed it, why not start up a marching band of your own and then you can enter.

Report this post »

Sdapeze says...
11:29pm Sat 30 Jun 12

I had a great time. It went really well with thousands lining the streets. How sad it is to read the negative comments from the do nothing, achieve nothing, volunteer for nothing, negative thinking, low-life that infest these pages. The organisers did a great job, in spite of the police action to prevent it going ahead. A brilliant event and I look forward to doing it all over again next year.

Report this post »

Mr Resident of Colchester says...
1:23am Sun 1 Jul 12

Sdapeze wrote:
I had a great time. It went really well with thousands lining the streets. How sad it is to read the negative comments from the do nothing, achieve nothing, volunteer for nothing, negative thinking, low-life that infest these pages. The organisers did a great job, in spite of the police action to prevent it going ahead. A brilliant event and I look forward to doing it all over again next year.

Sdapeze I took the positive step of attending the event with a positive view that this would be a great event. Alas compared to previous Colchester carnivals and those put on by other towns and villages I found it
underwhelming and lacklustre as reported by other respondents. Oh and I actually attended on behalf of a local charity as a volunteer too. I'm sure that the organisers put a lot of effort in but in my book it scores a firm "must try harder".

Report this post »

ShallowRemarks says...
10:25am Sun 1 Jul 12

Not exactly Notting Hill by the sound of it.

Report this post »

25414nora says...
12:23pm Sun 1 Jul 12

A hearty thank you to all who organised and those who took part in Colchesters Carnival and procession. Perhaps some of the negative comments above, are from people who have been spoilt by the Colchester carnivals of years past. In the 60s. 70's, even the 80's Colchester had fabulous carnivals, with week long fairground attractions, beer tents, side shows, and of course the carnival queen and all her lovely attendents..Alas in these days of political correctness, severe finantial hardship, and the compensation culture, the festivities have become much less entertaining. That said I'm sure many of the children enjoyed the fun day just the same..

Report this post »

andymac1 says...
12:44pm Sun 1 Jul 12

pingu wrote:
wow is all i can say, it was Crap. No bands, no carnival queen. iTS WAS THE MOST BORING event ive ever been too. This town CANOT Do carnivals. Little villages do the best and yes other towns once again let down. £2 for a make a animal balloon. years ago when i used to go carnival things like that were given out free. Waste of time wont be going again.

Negative! Negative! Negative! Pingu, try getting off your backside and joining in, thousands of people enjoyed the parade and all the shows, dances and performances in castle park. It is always easy for the armchair spectator to critsise. Hundreds of volunteers put in thousands of hours to put on an event which takes huge organisation and effort. If we all had an attitude like yours then life really would be boring. Well done to everyone who staged a fantastic carnival and parade, thank you for all your work and effort.

Report this post »

l7u7c7k7y777 says...
3:02pm Sun 1 Jul 12

I think some of these people who have commented, like Pingu, perhaps didn't see the whole of the Carnival? There was effectively two different parts starting at the same time, the traditional / float based bit was from Abbey Fields and the more intense drumming based walking Samba and other part both started at 4pm. We were wondering why there was a 20 minute wait before the other Carnival part arrived and found out afterwards why. Pingu- and probably understandably frustrated others- looks like you need to get out of bed earlier because you comments say to me you didn't see Carnival. You like the all out traditional English Carnival but you won't decide to do something and help make it strong: "...wow is all i can say, it was Crap. No bands, no carnival queen. iTS WAS THE MOST BORING event ive ever been too. This town CANOT Do carnivals. Little villages do the best and yes other towns once again let down..." No doubt English style Carnival takes effort and support from the generous and community spirited to work to make it happen but anyway you can't have seen the whole of the parade because no one can fail to be impressed each year by Boudica School of Samba which is clearly a magnificent jewel in the Carnival Tiara of Colchester. Also they had two Queens by the look of it and a Carnival King I recognise seeing from Notting Hill. Advise to the frustrated then: Get on youtube if you can be bothered to see what you missed if not get an alarm clock and a life and think about other people for once in your life.

Report this post »

Sdapeze says...
8:46pm Sun 1 Jul 12

All that I can say is that I missed the carnival because I was a participant, I would love to be a spectator and see for myself. But if I did that, and the other participants did that, we wouldn't have a carnival. I am saddened to read these negative comments from people who clearly do nothing but carp. The internet has given us a lot. Paedophiles that prey on our children and cowards that hide behind pseudonyms. I know that the majority had a great day and, because of that, I shall be back next year, doing my bit for the community.

Report this post »

romantic says...
10:51pm Sun 1 Jul 12

Patman99 wrote:
I'll second that. Big build-up in the press, then BIG disappointment when the 'parade' actually passed-by. Where were the Carnival Queens?. No marching bands (apart from a local Samba band). Might I suggest next year they invite the Scouts, Guides and Boys Brigade to help organise the Carnival?. At least these groups know how to put-on a good show.

You could always get involved in some way. All those people who made the carnival happen were not some alien race, they were ordinary people who thought it would be a good thing to do. Rather than just carp from the sides, maybe put something back.

Report this post »

archie11 says...
11:14pm Sun 1 Jul 12

My family and I enjoyed the carnival. Though I have to admit I was waiting for the Carnival Queens, Brownies, Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, marching bands etc AND EVEN OUR TROOPS ! It was lovely to see different nationalities dancing and in their native wear :-) I guess I'm one of those that was spoilt as a child and got to experience the real carnivals of past in this town. Yes I was a bit gutted but I'm not that ignorant to know that a lot of hard work was put into the day and its so sad today that 'P C' has ruined family events such as this.

Report this post »

Mr Resident of Colchester says...
11:47pm Sun 1 Jul 12

OK carnival organisers and participants, despite the negativity around the carnival, I think we should all say well done and thank you for the efforts put in on this occasion. However the comments made on this forum need to be taken on board and the lessons learned. We as a community, be it schools, churches, community groups, scouts, brownies etc need to rise to the challenge and restore Colchester Carnival to what it used to be so that our children can share in the fond memories that some of us have of carnivals past and the for town have to an opportunity to come together as a community and have fun as well as raising much needed money for charity.

Report this post »

G.Speel says...
9:49am Mon 2 Jul 12

Sdapeze I totally agree with your comments. It is a shame that so many people take such a negative view on the proceedings when so many people invested their valuablefree time into organising it.
Carnival Queen - who needs one of them? In my experience they are over made up, very skinny and unattractive wanna be models who will never make it in the circuit in a million years. Then to add insult to injury the Carnival Queen is flanked by a couple of youngsters, who in my personal opinion, are also as unattractive as the Carnival Queen and with all the cheap make up their parents have plastered on their faces in an attempt to make them more attractive than they really are would probably wake up the next morning with chronic Acne.
I feel sure the military would have been asked to participate but for some reason were unable to do so - perhaps due to cut backs.
Well done organisers you all did a great job no matter what some misery guts say.

Report this post »

StopLookListen says...
12:21pm Mon 2 Jul 12

I do remember the days when there was some sort of band between every few floats, and this certainly helped the atmosphere and enjoyment.
.
There were the various organisations and brigades that made music, and also of course many military bands.
.
Although I was too small to remember details, the pre-WW2 carnivals were magnificent, and the achievements of those who had little in the way of materials possessions were staggering. Workers from the big stores, ie M&S, went home around 6pm and spent their evenings making costumes, including once Ali Baba and all 40 thieves. The professionalism of their efforts can be seen in old photos.
.
I understand they also did "A pack of cards", and the cards they wore back and front were painted by a lad from the Grammar School at half a crown each. That was obviously a budding entrepreneur and I hope his time was not cut short by the War.
.
Even in the early 60s there was a great deal of music, and some wonderful floats, and then of course there was the Military Tattoo in the Castle Park to anticipate.
.
Unfortunately we now have to combat tv professionalism and so on, but the spirit of good local fun could be revived with a bit more effort. You work in a High St shop? Then thousands may know and recognise you, and cheer you on. Get ready for next year. That's a large part of it, somebody familiar having a bit of fun.

Report this post »

havefun says...
1:04pm Mon 2 Jul 12

Firstly i have never been bothered to blogg before but after reading some people copmments about the carnival i thought i would set a few things stright. Firstly i take my hat off to Colchester Roundtable who have broght this back to colchester, well done, these kind of groups do this for fun and don't make money at it, so without these people the carnival would not happen. It's very easy to sit and slate off the event but i would lay money people like pingu dont get of there backsides and do anythink for anyone unless it benifits them! people are all to quick to give the bad in things, but lets be real money is tight for most people, it's only it's second year back, better to have it and help build it up than sit in front of a pc and slate it, so those who have slated it get a life and stop being a drain on the rest of the population.

I thought the carnival as a whole was very good all though a few teething problems nothing that can't be sorted, this is good for the town, it helps the shops by getting people in town shopping this will help people keep and get jobs, narrow minded people need to see the bigger picture!

It was a s hame however the big stores in town did not put floats in, perhaps they will next year, but negative comments willo result in the good guys doing this not bothering, so get involved I will without fail be offering my time to them for next year, will done all those involved.

Report this post »

Dorian says...
1:20pm Mon 2 Jul 12

I am delighted to admit - under my own name, not hidden by a false identity - that I am the overall show director of the five free and highly successful carnival festivals that happened on Saturday, which were enjoyed by thousands of people, not one of whom made any kind of negative comment all day. Here is a message to the anonymous, joyless and baleful people who headed up this forum thread- get a life! And don't confuse your personal preferences for boys in shorts and acne ridden carnival queens for what the sheer joy and pleasure that was felt by thousands of cheering spectators all day long, who loved the Bolivian Dancers. Montgomery and Old Heath School, the Fijian Soldiers, the Nepalese Ghurkas, the 150 strong choir and 50 costumed dancers and all the thousand others who were having a great time dressing up and performing for you.

If you want a different kind of carnival to the one we gave you free of charge and with no compulsion on your part to come and watch it, then please feel free to put one on, just as we did. I am sure that you will make a good job of it. We will even give you help with the risk assessments and the road closures if you want it.
Just for the record the Scouts were invited and with a few exceptions you might have missed, they did not reply to the invitation(s). The army is not free, but charge a great deal to appear, money which as private individuals we dont have.
Oh and if you were the person in the crowd who gave me a violent shove in the back for having the temerity to get between him and a leggy Bolivian dancer, please dont do it again. I still have a bruise.

(grin) Dorian Kelly Carnival Director

Report this post »

Dorian says...
1:22pm Mon 2 Jul 12

Oh by the way, i wont be reading any more of this mindless thread. If you want to contact me or abuse me personally you can always find me using just a modicum of intelligence.

Report this post »

O rly? says...
2:01pm Mon 2 Jul 12

Wow.

Until the post from the 'Carnival Director', I thought nothing of the comments from those claiming the carnival was not to their liking...after all, in a public forum in a democratic society such as this, surely everyone is entitled to their opinion.

However, to attack and attempt to pigeonhole anyone with a negative view of the event is an error. Yes, you will come across comments that are intended to be over zealous, (see: trolling), but tarring everyone with that same brush is the quickest way to alienate a proportion of your audience.

There are a growing number of examples of companies/individual
s attacking commentators on the internet, an increasing number of which result in some form of lawsuit with silly charges such as defamation, slander etc - In almost all of these cases, the company/individual does themselves no favours, and often end up in a worse position than had they said nothing.

See: http://www.techdirt.
com/ (A great source of said info)

Report this post »

StopLookListen says...
10:00pm Mon 2 Jul 12

I see that one poster has agreed with me about the High Street stores getting involved. They should do so, and bring the familiar into the carnival stream.
.
We are all so constrained by the malignant Elf "Ann Safetee" these days, and by costs, but I bet there are still people who could bring back the old community spirit and create their costumes in conjunction with the rest of their group, just for the fun of it.
.
Forget "what's in it for me?" and have some fun, and you High Street stores, bring back the traditional floats that used to be run by the commercial enterprises in the Town, hilarious and witty.
.
Sorry the Army charge so much to perform. We hear they are making redundancies now and so the idea of enhancing recruiting by performing is not of interest to them, is it? Maybe at some future time things will change in that direction and they will be glad of the publicity.
.
It would have been great if the Town that supports them in many ways and shows respect in their hours of sorrow, were saluted by at least one little Army Band in the annual parade, free and gratis.
.
Thank goodness the organisers intend to carry on, and let's hope they can take on board any constructive criticism and not throw their toys out of the pram at it. If you put your head above the parapet you will at some time be shot at, all who volunteer their services know that, or should.

Report this post »

The old see dog says...
11:39pm Mon 2 Jul 12

I to went to watch the carnival and also agree that it was not of the same size and quality as years past but well done to all the people that entered and the organizers. As they say "Things can only get better" With a little help from everyone. Roll on next year.

Report this post »

Mr Resident of Colchester says...
2:10am Tue 3 Jul 12

We should perhaps ask how much this actually cost the people of Colchester. One part of the festival, "Sparks Will Fly" according to the Harwich and Manningtree Standard cost £451,500 at a series of events across the county including the one hosted in the Castle Park on Saturday. £245,500 of this came from ECC taxpayers directly, £99,500 from publicly funded body the Arts Council England, and £85,000 came from other councils in the county. Perhaps Dorian Kelly as Carnival Director responsible for the five festivals in Colchester could elaborate on who were volunteers and who where paid performers and how much it actually cost the public purse for this "so called free" event?

Report this post »

Sdapeze says...
12:33pm Tue 3 Jul 12

Things will only get better if people join in. This is nothing to do with the organisers. If the police had their way it would not happen at all. Not one of those who criticise this event are prepared to give their real names I notice. What a bunch of miserable cowards.

Report this post »

imanelf says...
8:21pm Tue 3 Jul 12

My kids were looking forward to the carnival all day and to be honest, quite enjoyed watching it until my 3 year old was approached by someone (walking alongside the 'GANG SHOW' float) who said "would you like a balloon? " and when my little one gladly accepted and said "thankyou", my husband was then demanded to hand over a pound !!!!!! emotional blackmail..... thats not how you do things !!!! so our fun was brought to an abrupt end by a crying toddler !

Report this post »

havefun says...
8:43pm Tue 3 Jul 12

imanelf wrote:
My kids were looking forward to the carnival all day and to be honest, quite enjoyed watching it until my 3 year old was approached by someone (walking alongside the 'GANG SHOW' float) who said "would you like a balloon? " and when my little one gladly accepted and said "thankyou", my husband was then demanded to hand over a pound !!!!!! emotional blackmail..... thats not how you do things !!!! so our fun was brought to an abrupt end by a crying toddler !

So you go to tesco ad don't pay anythink, how's that work. Nothing for nothing and it's £1.00. Or are your kids not worth a treat every now and then !

Report this post »

imanelf says...
9:02pm Tue 3 Jul 12

oh I see, I stupidly thought the carnival was free......wasn't aware I had recieved something without paying.....hardly the same as a weekly shop is it !!!!! and yes of course my kids are worth a treat but just feel its using a child to get money knowing too well how it tugs on the parents heart strings to have to say no. Would rather put the pound towards a charity.

Report this post »

romantic says...
10:43pm Tue 3 Jul 12

imanelf wrote:
My kids were looking forward to the carnival all day and to be honest, quite enjoyed watching it until my 3 year old was approached by someone (walking alongside the 'GANG SHOW' float) who said "would you like a balloon? " and when my little one gladly accepted and said "thankyou", my husband was then demanded to hand over a pound !!!!!! emotional blackmail..... thats not how you do things !!!! so our fun was brought to an abrupt end by a crying toddler !

I think it´s called chugging - charity mugging. Come on, it´s a pound, I´m sure your kid would have got a pound´s worth of enjoyment from the balloon. Believe me, your little one will cost you far more than a pound over the years!

I know it seems like emotional blackmail, but those people had gone out and done something, and (I presume and hope) that pound will have gone to a good cause in the end.

Report this post »

hidden in the cloud says...
11:07pm Tue 3 Jul 12

Sdapeze wrote:
Things will only get better if people join in. This is nothing to do with the organisers. If the police had their way it would not happen at all. Not one of those who criticise this event are prepared to give their real names I notice. What a bunch of miserable cowards.

There is of course a glorious irony here that Sdapeze isn't this bloggers real name, but an online name which he chooses to use rather like the rest of the posters on this site. Encouraging the use of real names on pages such as these is a tad naive and all the messages about cyber security and identity theft have apparently passed him by. The reason that most people don't use their real names online is not through cowardice but to protect them from the dangers of cyber crime, cyber stalkers and the like - personally I don't want some psychopath who happens to agree/disagree with what I say for whatever reason beating a path to my door with an axe. Fanciful? maybe ... but it has happened. The message being promoted should be ... stay safe online.

Report this post »

wellnow says...
9:36am Wed 4 Jul 12

when's the carnival then?

Report this post »

purpleorange says...
3:38pm Wed 4 Jul 12

I too was spoilt for good carnivals when i was a child (90's). This years was dissapointing for me... the different floats and people took too long between themselves to appear, i was watching at the bottom of the high street near the Castle pub, It was a little confusing too as the walking parties went into the castle but the floats went down the hill.... the kids got restless waiting for the floats because of the big gap. We then decided to walk down to the fun fair... Now i appreciate we got there at nearly 5pm.. Was there more than the 3 bouncy castles, the couple of little kids rides, the over priced bungee trampolines and the 'roller coaster' that looks like a shopping trolley on a runner thats been made in someones shed?!? I'd rather have saved the bus fair into town and taken them to the fair on the Rec. When i was a kid we used to take handfuls of coppers for the different floats, and come back with handfuls of sweets, balloons, goodie bags and them silly cardboard spiral hats! Very disapointed. We too were forced to pay a pound to someone for a balloon!! Im not pointing a finger at the people who organized this, its a very hard thing to do, and im pleased that after a couple of years of not having a carnival someone has sorted it out... But their just not like they used to be!!

Report this post »

Sdapeze says...
5:34pm Wed 4 Jul 12

For the benefit of 'hidden in the cloud', Sdapeze's real name is Jess Jephcott and today is his birthday.

Report this post »

wellnow says...
8:33pm Wed 4 Jul 12

well happy birthday jess.

Report this post »

hidden in the cloud says...
10:38pm Wed 4 Jul 12

Sdapeze wrote:
For the benefit of 'hidden in the cloud', Sdapeze's real name is Jess Jephcott and today is his birthday.

Many Happy Returns Jess ... and I'd already worked that out from using Google and putting the pieces together but thought it impolite to reveal your true identity to the world.

Report this post »

moshking says...
10:59am Thu 5 Jul 12

First, let me declare my interest. I am the Chairman of the Colchester Carnival organising committee. We have read your comments with interest, and feel that we should reply. If you have any feedback you would like to send directly to us, please email feedback@colchesterc
arnival.com.

First, some context. Colchester Carnival was taken over by Colchester Round Table and Colchester Ladies Circle last year. This is our second event. We are all volunteers, and stepped in to help to run a great community event for the town. None of us are professional event organisers, and we all have day jobs and businesses to run, so this is all put together in our spare time. We put on the event to benefit the community and to raise some money for good causes in Colchester. We do not have any financial backing from Colchester Borough Council, and we run on a shoestring budget. Our accounts are published online (see http://hoopeac1.mini
server.com/~crt367/w
p-content/uploads/20
11/12/Carnival-accou
nts-2011.pdf for the 2011 accounts), and last year we spent £16,000 to put on a big event (which is tiny compared to other, larger carnivals, or even other local events like the Torch relay).

Our overall impression is that the 45 entrants this year, and the 1000 participants, all had a wonderful day without incident. The event was a great success from our perspective, but we recognise that you all have some valid points, so we’d like to respond.

Carnival Queen
We decided not to have a carnival queen last year due to negative feedback from the public when we consulted on the matter. Generally, it was felt that the concept was not appropriate for a modern event, and we wanted to focus on the artistic elements of our carnival. For those who want such a spectacle, carnival queens still take part in most other local carnivals.

Street vendors
We are aware of the problems with unlicensed street vendors. These are not supplied by us, and we have raised the issue this year and last year with both the police and the council. I am afraid there is little we can do to stop this. Do not buy items from these people.

Free gifts
We are strictly forbidden by Colchester Borough Council to hand out any printed materials in the parade. This is due to enforcement of a bye law to do with the night time trade. The council has told us that if anyone hands out freebies in the procession they risk fines of £100 per individual, and the company responsible will be prosecuted. This is not our policy.

Marching bands
We did have one marching band booked – the excellent Colchester & District Pipes & Drums. However, due to lack of available players they had to pull out. We did invite other local marching bands but they were either not available or unwilling to take part. As organisers we cannot make people play or take part!

Samba bands
You will have seen the excellent Boudica Samba lead the procession with their wonderful costumes. We also had 2 other samba bands booked but they pulled out at the last minute. We managed to insert the Bolivian Dancers, who were a highlight of the procession in my view.

Scouts, Guides, Boys Brigade
We had one group of Brownies, and one group of Scouts in the procession. Again, we invited others, but not every group was available to take part.

Performers
I think we need to give you all some perspective on our event. We are not Notting Hill Carnival or Luton Carnival. We run on a tiny budget, with no cash from local councils. Other events gather a massive cash injection from their local councils who see it as a tourist draw. They also provide council staff to work on all the aspects of the event. You would not believe how much work goes into putting on this event on the health and safety and planning side, let alone trying to book performers, and organise Castle Park’s events. None of our performers are paid. Therefore, we must rely on the good will of local groups to spend time and their own money to enter the procession. Give us £100,000 and we can pay bands and groups from all over the UK to perform. The alternative would be to charge an entrance fee, as happens in other events. Our event is free to all, and actually returns money to good causes in the area.

We also need to remember that although the event was huge many years ago, the climate is different now. We are limited to 2 hours to run the procession, which does restrict the number of entrants. In any case, I am sure that if we closed Southway for 4 hours instead of 2, we would get many more comments about that!

Army
There have been comments that the army was not involved. They were, although we’d love to encourage more of this. In the procession we had the military police leading us off. We had the Invicta Foundation with the Royal British Legion motor cycle out riders. We had Ghurkhas in traditional dress, plus Fijian soldiers. In Castle Park we had the army with a shooting range. I can say that I attended a constructive meeting with the army and they want to be involved more. The date of the carnival was the 30th of June, which happened to be Armed Forces day. Perhaps they had other commitments?

Participants
Let’s remember that the procession is only as good as those who are willing to take part. If you want more schools, dance groups, Scouts, bands etc., then tell them to get involved! In the past most business put in a float. We have taken the view that we do not want a revolving advertising board, but as long as businesses get into the spirit, they are very welcome.

Dorian Kelly
In defence of Dorian, he gives up hundreds of hours of his own time to help us organise the event for no money. The artistic content owes much to his involvement. His comments on this thread were from frustration. His views were personal and do not reflect the wider view of the organisers. Please direct any constructive feedback to feedback@colchesterc
arnival.com

Sparks Will Fly
This was a great show, and really enhanced the procession. However, it cost us nothing. The cost was paid by Essex County Council. Every participant in the procession was a volunteer – including most of the Sparks Will Fly element, which included 200+ performers from Colchester. There are obviously some paid performers such as Marina Mightier – but not paid by us.

Not like it used to be…
Please refer to my previous comments. We are in year 2, and the event will evolve. I am sure Glastonbury didn’t get to where it is now overnight…

Conclusion
I hope that you will agree that my comments are intended to be respectful and constructive. Please remember my main point. We do this for free, in our own time, for the benefit of the community. It is our second year and we do not pay performers. If you want more of a certain thing, let us know and we will do our best to get that organised, but bear in mind our tiny budget. Unless of course, you’d like to sponsor or donate…?

First, let me declare my interest. I am the Chairman of the Colchester Carnival organising committee. We have read your comments with interest, and feel that we should reply. If you have any feedback you would like to send directly to us, please email feedback@colchesterc arnival.com. First, some context. Colchester Carnival was taken over by Colchester Round Table and Colchester Ladies Circle last year. This is our second event. We are all volunteers, and stepped in to help to run a great community event for the town. None of us are professional event organisers, and we all have day jobs and businesses to run, so this is all put together in our spare time. We put on the event to benefit the community and to raise some money for good causes in Colchester. We do not have any financial backing from Colchester Borough Council, and we run on a shoestring budget. Our accounts are published online (see http://hoopeac1.mini server.com/~crt367/w p-content/uploads/20 11/12/Carnival-accou nts-2011.pdf for the 2011 accounts), and last year we spent £16,000 to put on a big event (which is tiny compared to other, larger carnivals, or even other local events like the Torch relay). Our overall impression is that the 45 entrants this year, and the 1000 participants, all had a wonderful day without incident. The event was a great success from our perspective, but we recognise that you all have some valid points, so we’d like to respond. Carnival Queen We decided not to have a carnival queen last year due to negative feedback from the public when we consulted on the matter. Generally, it was felt that the concept was not appropriate for a modern event, and we wanted to focus on the artistic elements of our carnival. For those who want such a spectacle, carnival queens still take part in most other local carnivals. Street vendors We are aware of the problems with unlicensed street vendors. These are not supplied by us, and we have raised the issue this year and last year with both the police and the council. I am afraid there is little we can do to stop this. Do not buy items from these people. Free gifts We are strictly forbidden by Colchester Borough Council to hand out any printed materials in the parade. This is due to enforcement of a bye law to do with the night time trade. The council has told us that if anyone hands out freebies in the procession they risk fines of £100 per individual, and the company responsible will be prosecuted. This is not our policy. Marching bands We did have one marching band booked – the excellent Colchester & District Pipes & Drums. However, due to lack of available players they had to pull out. We did invite other local marching bands but they were either not available or unwilling to take part. As organisers we cannot make people play or take part! Samba bands You will have seen the excellent Boudica Samba lead the procession with their wonderful costumes. We also had 2 other samba bands booked but they pulled out at the last minute. We managed to insert the Bolivian Dancers, who were a highlight of the procession in my view. Scouts, Guides, Boys Brigade We had one group of Brownies, and one group of Scouts in the procession. Again, we invited others, but not every group was available to take part. Performers I think we need to give you all some perspective on our event. We are not Notting Hill Carnival or Luton Carnival. We run on a tiny budget, with no cash from local councils. Other events gather a massive cash injection from their local councils who see it as a tourist draw. They also provide council staff to work on all the aspects of the event. You would not believe how much work goes into putting on this event on the health and safety and planning side, let alone trying to book performers, and organise Castle Park’s events. None of our performers are paid. Therefore, we must rely on the good will of local groups to spend time and their own money to enter the procession. Give us £100,000 and we can pay bands and groups from all over the UK to perform. The alternative would be to charge an entrance fee, as happens in other events. Our event is free to all, and actually returns money to good causes in the area. We also need to remember that although the event was huge many years ago, the climate is different now. We are limited to 2 hours to run the procession, which does restrict the number of entrants. In any case, I am sure that if we closed Southway for 4 hours instead of 2, we would get many more comments about that! Army There have been comments that the army was not involved. They were, although we’d love to encourage more of this. In the procession we had the military police leading us off. We had the Invicta Foundation with the Royal British Legion motor cycle out riders. We had Ghurkhas in traditional dress, plus Fijian soldiers. In Castle Park we had the army with a shooting range. I can say that I attended a constructive meeting with the army and they want to be involved more. The date of the carnival was the 30th of June, which happened to be Armed Forces day. Perhaps they had other commitments? Participants Let’s remember that the procession is only as good as those who are willing to take part. If you want more schools, dance groups, Scouts, bands etc., then tell them to get involved! In the past most business put in a float. We have taken the view that we do not want a revolving advertising board, but as long as businesses get into the spirit, they are very welcome. Dorian Kelly In defence of Dorian, he gives up hundreds of hours of his own time to help us organise the event for no money. The artistic content owes much to his involvement. His comments on this thread were from frustration. His views were personal and do not reflect the wider view of the organisers. Please direct any constructive feedback to feedback@colchesterc arnival.com Sparks Will Fly This was a great show, and really enhanced the procession. However, it cost us nothing. The cost was paid by Essex County Council. Every participant in the procession was a volunteer – including most of the Sparks Will Fly element, which included 200+ performers from Colchester. There are obviously some paid performers such as Marina Mightier – but not paid by us. Not like it used to be… Please refer to my previous comments. We are in year 2, and the event will evolve. I am sure Glastonbury didn’t get to where it is now overnight… Conclusion I hope that you will agree that my comments are intended to be respectful and constructive. Please remember my main point. We do this for free, in our own time, for the benefit of the community. It is our second year and we do not pay performers. If you want more of a certain thing, let us know and we will do our best to get that organised, but bear in mind our tiny budget. Unless of course, you’d like to sponsor or donate…? moshking

Report this post »

newtactic says...
8:55pm Thu 5 Jul 12

If Pingu wants to be taken seriously it needs to sharpen up its spelling and grammar. As I have put elsewhere, I caught the tale end of the carnival and the party in the park and saw lots of bright costumes, dancing and happy faces. Since I have lived in Colchester (nearly 40 years) I have alway been impressed with the large number of the population who volunteer for the community and charities, as the organisers of the carnival have done. I notice it is compared with the Notting Hill carnival, which my cousins, who live nearby, usually avoid as it is notorious for petty crime and punch-ups. Colchester would need to put the same expensive security measures in place, if it had a "Notting Hill"! If Colchester Carnival's critics would like to see improvements, I suggest they start planning to help the committee now, to make next year's carnival an equally fun event. At the risk of sounding like a feminist, I was also glad to see there was no carnival queen.

Report this post »

colchesterguy says...
2:00pm Fri 6 Jul 12

Free gifts???
Moshking will Coke get fined by the council for handing free stuff out today on the torch relay?

I think some one at the council lies to you!
And well done to you and the rest of your gang for the whole carnival day

Report this post »

Thousands line the streets for Colchester Carnival (From Gazette)

News RSS Feed Send your news, pictures & videos

Thousands line the streets for Colchester Carnival

click2find

Jobs

Dating

Homes

Cars

About cookies