Bridgwater Carnival organisers are celebrating after receiving support from Arts Council England for the eight consecutive year.
A grant has been awarded once again for this year’s carnival activities by the Government funded body, who has the responsibility of distributing money from the Government and National Lottery for the development of arts in England.
Chris Hocking, commercial director of Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival Committee, said: “This is absolutely fantastic news for everybody associated with our carnival, and I would like to thank Arts Council England for their much needed continued support.
“The grant will enable us to continually improve the role our carnival related activities play in the development of arts in Somerset, and it will also ensure our carnival survives for future generations to enjoy.”
As with previous years, some of the grant will be used to provide a full programme of entertainment in the town on carnival day and will also facilitate the continuation of the work the carnival committee has been doing with local schools in spreading the carnival word.
In addition and to ensure the carnival reaps the full benefit of the grant allocation, there are a number of other specific activities and enhancements which the carnival committee will be introducing at this year’s carnival. These include inviting carnival artists to apply to commission, create and deliver giant puppets which will take part in the 2019 carnival activities, and also hosting a carnival group with disabilities from the Isle of Wight into this year’s carnival procession. The Isle of Wight group will also deliver carnival workshops to Bridgwater disability groups before the big day, with the aim of encouraging them to take part in Bridgwater Carnival in the future.
Chris added: “We are really excited about this year’s carnival celebrations and we are looking forward to working with other carnival artistes and groups from throughout the country. I have a feeling Bridgwater Carnival 2019 is going to be the biggest and best one yet.”
