By Isle of Wight Observer
The carnival season ended in style with a spectacular illuminated finale around Ryde on Saturday. It followed the town’s main carnival, on Thursday, which left carnival organiser, Jo Morrison, saying her team were: “Happy but exhausted!”
Jo said: “It might seem just a couple of days, but it’s so tiring and also exhilarating. The Illuminated Carnival, especially, was fantastic. The crowd was much bigger than last year, I think because it was the final one of the season.
“We were also so glad the main carnival came off so well, as that was postponed last year because of the weather.
“The Illuminated had some special guests, including an Ukraine group which came over from Gosport. They were all dressed in yellow and blue and got together with other Ukrainians living on the Island. They were all smiling everywhere you looked. We also had a visit from the Royal British Legion Surbiton Youth Marching Band, who were on the Island for the first time. There were seven bands in all, with four samba bands, Bloco Fogo, Big Noise, Fat and Raw who all met up beforehand. We also had the popular Ventnor Comic Jazz Band and the Medina Marching Band.
“Other floats included the New Carnival Company with their amazing puppets and Shademakers.
“While there was also the Inner Demons motor-bike riders who were promoting mental health issues.
“The main carnival was also lots of fun, with our own dragon float, made by Ben Matthews, being a real attraction, especially when it blew out smoke. Ben came up with the idea and is so creative; he is an amazing help to us generally, with his wife, Sarah, who make sure our carnival queens get around to all the carnivals during the summer, and look after their safeguarding. They are part of a small team of 10 volunteers, and spend months helping to put all this together.
“I would also like to thank Ryde Town Council, who sponsored the disabled viewing platform for both the carnivals, which made a big difference to the people who used them.”
