By Isle of Wight Observer
East Cowes is going back to the future, by holding its first carnival in 30 years next summer.
The carnival will take place on the afternoon of August 23, and the idea came from Jane Allchorn, who runs Community Spirited at the Parkside Pavilion. She explained: “It’s great that we are able to hold the carnival once more. People kept asking me why we haven’t done it for so long, and I looked into it. It just seemed the committee at the time just couldn’t get the support it needed.
“It takes a community to get involved and Community Spirited is here for local people and the town.”
There have been two meetings so far to see if anyone would like get involved, with the second on Monday to decide a committee.
Jane added: “Around 30 people attended the first meeting, and we were overwhelmed with the support we received. Now we can move on and get more people involved; we want everyone to help and be part of the event.
“We now have a really good foundation and we can take it from here. We know it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but we’re all excited. Paddy McHugh, from Newport Carnival, has been very supportive and his experience will be a huge help for us.”
The chairman of the new committee is Carrie Lacey, who has lived in the town for more than 35 years. She said: “I was fortunate enough to take part in the last East Cowes Carnival which was some 29 years ago, 1995!
“Both of my children have regularly participated in carnivals across the Island and we love spending family time celebrating in different towns over the summer. After the couple of meetings, and, witnessing first-hand the enthusiasm and desire to get a carnival back to East Cowes, I have no doubt that, with a lot of hard work and volunteers, this community will put a day on to remember!”
East Cowes Carnival now has a Facebook page which will publish full updates over the next few months. More volunteers are welcome.
