Thousands of people lined the streets of Frome last Saturday to cheer on the much-loved Frome Carnival, which returned with a colourful children’s parade in the afternoon, featuring many of the town’s community groups, before the evening procession transformed the streets with illuminated floats and dancers.
“It was absolutely brilliant,” said Mandy Morgan from the carnival committee. “The family community carnival truly lived up to its name and was a great success. This year, we saw the most entries since pre-Covid, and the children’s carnival was the biggest we’ve ever had.
“The procession route for the children’s parade was a mile long, with the last entry leaving just as the first returned. It was also the first time in many years that we’ve had a cart in the children’s procession, and we were thrilled that the Gorgons entered theirs.”
This year, £4,000 was raised from street collections, which will go towards supporting the future of the carnival as well as local beneficiaries including Witham Friary FC, Frome Macular Society and Frome Army Cadets, who led both processions for the first time.
The Twohig family from Frome celebrated four generations taking part in the carnival this year. Their entry, Toy Story, won the House Cup in the children’s carnival.
Mandy added, “We even had a wedding planned at the Town Hall right in the middle of our afternoon procession. We invited the bride to join the end of our procession from the top of Bath Street roundabout to the Town Hall. The bridal party was thrilled and thanked us for helping ensure their wedding was not disrupted. We hope it made their special day even more memorable.”
Frome’s Mayor, Cllr Andy Jones, remarked, “It’s a real Frome tradition, isn’t it? It has such a great vibe and raises so much money for local charities.”
Mandy concluded, “We rely on donations to keep going, so we extend our gratitude to all our sponsors, groups and businesses who have supported us throughout the year.”
To view the full results from both the afternoon and evening processions visit Frome Street Carnival on Facebook.
