Lions Club of Tavistock
Carnival Week
Carnival Week 13th -21st July 2024
Your link to the Carnival Programme for Carnival Week!
Click on the image below!
Entry Form for the Procession!
Carnival Procession Entry Form 2024.docxCarnival Week will begin on 13th July with the Fringe Music and Entertainment followed on Sunday 14th by Fun Day in the Meadows with lots of activities and fun for all the family, including the Family Dog Show!!
There will be events during the week culminating in Carnival Weekend 20th/21st July. We are looking to create a range of great activities in the Square over that weekend to get Tavistock buzzing!
The main Carnival Procession is taking place on Sunday 21st July.
We would love you to join us to make this a very special event!!
When is it?
Sunday July 21st at 4.00pm. You will need to be in position by 3.00pm. Last year’s Procession had to be moved to a Sunday in September because of the weather; however, we had a lot of positive feedback about an earlier start on a Sunday as more of a family occasion so we are trying it out this year.
What is the theme?
The Carnival theme this year will be “Let’s Get Animated!!” You can either choose an animated film or TV show or if you prefer, just get animated and go a little crazy!! Music is always a key element of the procession!! Please make it as lively and loud as possible.
Why take part?
It’s a lot of fun! The Carnival is an important part of the Tavistock Calendar. It is a great opportunity to showcase your group or good cause and, if you have a business, great publicity! In Bedford Square there will be a Fair and food and entertainment in the afternoon, so there is sure to be a great Carnival atmosphere with a lot of people to watch and enjoy the Procession!
Are there prizes?
We don’t award prize money any more, but we will make a donation to all participants in recognition of their support. The amount depends on how much we are able to raise during Carnival Week.
Trade entries will be asked to nominate a local charity.
Trophies and certificates will be presented to the Class winners, and we intend to give all entries a certificate in recognition of their participation, and our appreciation of their efforts.
What are the arrangements?
They will be pretty much the same as those for the rearranged Procession last year - by and large they worked well so we plan to stick with the same this year.
The timings are all aimed at the procession entering Whitchurch Road at 4.00pm. To achieve this all entrants must be assembled by 3pm when judging will start. It will be completed so that the front of the procession can start to move from the top of Down Road at 3.45pm. You need to be assembled for the start of judging, but not much earlier. Of course, if you don’t want to be judged, you can take up your position later but by 3.15pm at the latest.
To try to save some time, this year we will present the Best in Class and Procession awards as the winning entries reach the bottom of Down Road.
We intend to keep the categories the same this year, ie:
• Schools
• Decorated Float or Group of Vehicles.
• Walking Class 1 - up to 10 people.
• Walking Class 2 - 11 people or more.
• Walking Class 3 - (any number with accompanying decorated vehicle)
• Trade.
What do we need to do to take part?
Complete the entry form and send it back – preferably by email
Health and Safety?
Our Health and Safety Leaflet is below to answer any questions you may have in that respect.
Is there any help or support you can offer?
We very much appreciate your involvement and if you want any help or support or have any questions, please contact Sally at sally.scotcher@tavistocklions.org.uk.
What can we do to help?
Please take part and encourage as many people, clubs and organisations as possible to take part, by word of mouth, social media etc. The more the merrier!
Here’s hoping for a sunny afternoon on 21st July!
Traffic Arrangements required for Tavistock Carnival each year
The main closure is to Down Road which we close from 1400 to 1600 on Carnival Day. This is to allow the parade with its tractors and trailers, lorries and hundreds of walkers, to form up and to protect any stray children that might run into the road.
When the parade starts at 1600 we close Whitchurch Road between Down Road and Abbey Place, but open it again when the parade has cleared into Abbey Place (about 20 - 25 minutes). We then close off roads as the parade approaches and these will be Plymouth Road between Bedford Square and Canal Road, Russell Street and then West Street between the junction with Fore Street and Bedford Square. Finally we close Duke Street between Bedford Square and Vigo Bridge and Market Road where the parade disperses. Note that, although we have set times for the road closures we try to minimise inconvenience to motorists by not closing roads until the parade approaches and opening them once it has passed.
You may have also noticed the many no parking signs that we have put up around the route. We need this to allow the big tractors and trailers and lorries to negotiate the route safely and also to allow spectators to see the parade.
Young Ambassadors
Last year we tried out a different approach to involving young people in the Carnival from the Carnival princess, It seemed to work well last year with 4 so we are repeating it this year with 10 young people from Year 6 from different schools - all girls!! We were delighted with their enthusiasm - hence the much bigger group! Here's what we plan to do with them!
What will you do?
You will be involved throughout Carnival Week especially on Fun Day and in the Carnival Procession but we want you to tell us what you would like to do.
Would you like to do some fundraising for a Charity on Fun Day?
What would you like to wear as an Ambassador?
What do you want to do in the Carnival Procession?
And it is not just about the Carnival. We do lots of other things in the run-up to Christmas. Would you like to be involved with those?
What other ideas do you have for fundraising that we could support you with?
You can see we want you to be fully involved as we know what great ideas and imagination young people have! We hope you will find out a lot about what we do as Lions!
Carnival 2023
What a great Carnival Week we had last year!
Here are some photos of the Carnival Procession courtesy of Chris Holdsworth.
Take a look at some of the recent Carnival themes here
So the Carnival Count revealed £1440! A great effort in the circumstances!! Thank you!!
We have been asked by one or two people how they could still donate. If anyone would like to, here are our bank details for a BACS transfer:
Bank details:- Lions Club of Tavistock 40-44-05 61102427
Thank you again for your support! The money we collect will go to local charities and good causes!
