Characters from the much loved Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast, became a familiar sight at carnivals across the Isle of Wight this year thanks to a group of family and friends.
The efforts of the Bloomfield family has meant they have retained the converted ‘Spirit of Carnival’ Award for two years in a row. Awarded for both their outstanding contributions and for embodying the spirit of what the Isle of Wight’s traditional carnivals are all about.
The Spirit of Carnival was introduced by the Gibbs family in 2017 and this year a new award has been created to recognise an overall winner for the year. The aim is to encourage participation from more individuals, groups and businesses by recognising some of carnival’s unsung heroes. During the season, separate awards were presented at the Newport, Ryde, Sandown and Ventnor carnivals.
Andrew and Jane Gibbs said:
“We are pleased to be able to support our local carnivals. The Island has such a vibrant heritage and it deserves all of our support and we would encourage other local businesses to get involved.”
The Gibbs family are the owners of several well-known Island pubs as well as Arreton Barns and have been actively involved in carnivals for many years; always entering The Spyglass pirate ship into the Ventnor Carnival.
Neil added:
“We wanted to create an award to celebrate the people and organisations that really get into the spirit of the occasion. Going forward we want to encourage as many businesses as possible to get involved in our traditional carnivals, whether that be supporting through sponsorship or even better pulling together a float.”
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