The South Brent Carnival has finally come to a close and the organisers will now be looking back to what was a fairly successful week as they hope that there will be more of the same in the future. There were plenty of events and entertainment that were crammed into the week and the Saturday afternoon procession was only the icing on a very eventful cake. The procession was the public’s first opportunity to see the South Brent Carnival Club float for this year, named ‘Birds in Paradise’. The float was joined by several floats from other Devon towns and also the Barnstaple town youth marching band. Naturally, there were also plenty of costumed people following the procession on foot.
A carnival dance held in the village hall kicked off the weekend and events were to follow throughout the coming week. On Sunday there was the carnival football and this was won by Let Downs United. On Monday, under the summer heat, the five-kilometre fun run took off and Tuesday was all about Bingo. The traditional floral dance was the main attraction on the evening of Thursday. There was plenty of excitement for Saturday’s events before Sunday finally brought the proceedings to an end as people got to enjoy a game of carnival cricket, a dog show and various sports that had been organised for children.
Jean Cleave, the Carnival club secretary spoke about the last weekend and said that it had gone quite well although she felt a little let down by the number of spectators and floats taking part in the procession. She, however, added that she’d asked the girls and they had said that they had a good time and the still had the Ashburton Carnival coming in the next weekend and they would be busy for the rest of the season. She also said that the Friday night dance was one of the best they’d had in a while as more than 80 people turned up for the event. Cleave also extended her gratitude to the many people who had helped out during the weekend.
It was only earlier this year that Mrs Cleave and her husband had announced that there was a real possibility of the carnival not taking place unless they were able to find more committee members. She, however, states that they found two new members and she’s hoping the carnival’s future will be bright.