The New Carnival Company (NCC) has been working hard throughout the pandemic to deliver its 2019-awarded National Lottery Heritage Fund project called ‘A Rather Bewildering Spectacle’.
The title is drawn from a newspaper record of the first Island carnival, which took place in Ryde in 1887. It was in honour of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, and it paraded through the town with masquerade costumes, decorated carts, marching bands and much merriment.
Today of course, the carnival is part of the Island’s rich cultural heritage, with at least 18 parades a year taking place across the Island prior to Covid. The NCC has partnered with Carisbrooke Castle Museum and oral history expert Lisa Kerley, to carry our interviews with community members who have been part of that rich and colourful story.
Representatives of Ryde, Sandown, Yarmouth, Ventnor, Shanklin, St Helens, and Newport carnivals have so far taken part, as well as members of such legendary groups as Ventnor Comic Jazz band, The Wight Strollers, the Valvona family, the Newport Old Guard Scout Band, The Keystone Kops and The Ryde Buccaneers.
The collected stories have been the inspiration for the production of a new children’s musical pageant of the same name, which will be performed on Thursday afternoon at 14:30 at Ryde Town Square (in front of the CO-OP). The show will be preceded by a small parade along the High Street starting 14:15 approximately.
The timing of the show commemorates what would normally be Ryde Main carnival, cancelled this year because of Covid.
About 40 children and young people will take part in the event, which is being presented by TEd (Theatre Educational) and Theatre Train, as part of a special carnival summer school delivered by the New Carnival Company (NCC). The summer school comprises part of the wider carnival memories project. Costume-making and dance performance rehearsals have been taking place at Oakfield School led by NCC artists.
Katy Edmunds, Associate Producer for the New Carnival Company said:
“It has become vital to keep the carnival flame burning through two years of cancellations due to the Covid pandemic.
“The summer school and the production of the new community pageant is engaging our young people in the excitement and energy of carnival whilst at the same time learning about the history and traditions that have gone before.
“Expect to be charmed by mini-Buccaneers, Keystone Kops gone Krazy, King Kong and the Flintstones (representative of the Holiday Camps era) and much much more.”
what is a “Carnivial”?
It is a lot of nobody’s showing off.
I used to love them as a child. Lots of home made fun, marching bands, all very innocent and people came together as a community. Keystone cops and the Ventnor marching band, that was back in the 60 and 70s.
Sounds a bit of a liberty to me. The self proclaimed ‘saviours of Ryde carnival’ are now harking back to the traditional format they tried to do away with… Copying other entries’ acts as well and getting Lottery money, year after year, to do it! They don’t even know that Ryde’s first proper carnival was 1888. Best of luck to the children, but Ryde’s festival was hi-jacked by overners some years ago.
I know, for a fact, that a few years ago some children in one of the Company’s lantern parade ‘workshops’ were told not to use too much glue because it’s expensive, whilst the founding members of said company flew to Rio on an inspirational mission to look at their carnival. Mmmm. Lottery cash for the ‘charity’? Cheers, easy.