HUNDREDS of people lined the streets of Frome to see the much-loved procession of Frome Carnival return to the town last weekend.
Mandy Morgan, event/judging coordinator at Frome Carnival said, “It was amazing to get back out there! I’m incredibly proud of what we managed to achieve as we are not as big as other carnivals, but we hold our own. We’re a real community-driven carnival that celebrates Frome.
“Considering that a lot of the clubs that submit entries to the procession haven’t been able to fundraise as easily as before, we still had a great number of entries and I’m so thankful for their support.
“The carnival is all about celebrating the lovely community that we have in Frome and hopefully everyone had a time to remember and raised money for some great causes at the same time. Compared to other larger carnivals such as Bridgwater I think we actually raise more money per person than they do, which shows just how generous the people of Frome are.”
So far, nearly £4,500 has been raised for local causes through QR code donations and physical bucket collections. This has already exceeded the amount raised from the last carnival, held in 2019, with subsequent carnivals cancelled due to the pandemic. The profit will be split between the Frome Community Wardrobe, Fair Frome, Coleford Scouts and Wessex Counselling and Psychotherapy.
There was a children’s procession earlier in the afternoon before being followed by an evening procession where the judging took place.
Mandy Morgan said, “I want to give a special shout-out to the afternoon children’s procession as it was a great success and proved to be really popular – we had the local army cadets and the fire brigade out to help with the collection, so thank you to them. We had a record number of entries in the children’s afternoon procession, so thank you to everyone who took part.
“In the evening procession we had our regulars that always support us like Kipling Carnival Club, Hot Rock Carnival Club, and the Magnum Carnival Club, but we’ve also had some new local entries such as the Merlin Theatre, Young Farmers and Gorgon’s Carnival Club.”
Kipling Carnival Club came in first place after gaining the most points from the judges with their entry, ‘Rusty’s’, followed closely by Hot Rock Carnival Club’s entry, ‘The Rush’.”
Mandy added, “I’d like to thank everyone that showed up and donated to the carnival, the stewards that helped tame the chaos, as well as giving a big thank you to the various clubs that have taken part!
“We also had two fantastic bands in the Dolphin Marching Band and the Bath-based outfit Jamma de Samba to cater for all tastes and they really brought carnival feel to the town. The Dolphin Band very kindly stopped outside The George to play the national anthem to mark our respects to the late Queen and the new King Charles III.
“The atmosphere going down through the town was electric – there’s nothing quite like it. Months of hard work culminates in a special occasion where we try to make people feel good and raise money at the same time.
“We’re a small committee of about 12 of us so we work really hard throughout the year to make this a reality – if this is something that sounds of interest please so get involved. This was the first time we used QR codes to aid donations and it worked a treat – people can still donate now if they wish!”
If you would like to join the Frome Street Carnival committee then visit their contacts page on their website www.fromecarnival.org.uk
The carnival committee will meet soon to de-brief and count all money raised. You can still donate to the carnival procession fund by your smart phone: text either CARNIVAL 1 to 70560 (for a £1 donation) CARNIVALFIVE to 70450 (for a £5 donation), or CARNIVALTEN to 70490 (for a £10 donation).
Frome Street Carnival is a non-for-profit organisation and relies on the generosity of local businesses to help sponsor the event as well as any money donated to them through the processions. You can donate directly to the carnival on their website.
If you’d like to see the full list of floats at the procession as well as the winners, then visit the carnival’s Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/fromecarnival
Annual Duck Race
Frome Carnival is hosting a duck race this Sunday to raise funds for the committee at Button Bridge, Frome Market Place, next to the canoe club on Sunday 2nd October from 2pm. This is the same day as the independent market day and ducks can be bought on the day or online – just get in contact with Frome Carnival’s Facebook page to buy one for just £1. There will be cash prizes for the winners; £50 for the winner, £30 for second place and £10 for third place.
