Gloucester Carnival Procession

Saturday 19th July 2008

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Gloucester Carnival bounces back after the floods of 2007 with a spectacular feast of sights and sounds to stimulate even the most distinguished palate!

For 2008 our traditional carnival procession took the theme 'Taste of Gloucester', and was all about the delicious world of food and drink. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing...

Traditional Gloucestershire Food and Drink
Gloucester Old Spot sausage and Double Gloucester cheese (don’t forget the Cheese Rolling!), refreshing fruit juice, cider and perry packed with apples and pears from the county’s orchards, tempting Cotswold ice creams and cream teas! Or why not go with traditional, very British fare; fish and chips, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and the full English breakfast!

Foods of the World – Right On Our Doorstep
Delicious dishes from all over the globe can be found in Gloucester – a reflection of our multicultural community – fine Caribbean, Asian, Chinese, Mediterranean, Eastern European, Greek, Mexican and a multitude of other tastes! Get decked out in traditional costume and show us the culinary delights of your community!

Thirst Quenchers!
Why not shake things up and create the wild colour and fizzy excitement of exotic cocktails?

Behind The Scenes
How about showing us how it’s done? Show us how bread makes its way from field to supermarket, or how milk goes from cow to breakfast table! Dress up as waiters and waitresses and work up a tray spinning performance routine!

Food and Drink in Fairy Tale and Film
Why not recreate the wild fun of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, the Gingerbread House from Hansel and Gretel or the Gingerbread Man from the story of the same name (and the Shrek movies!)? Or how about bringing it bang up to date with the rodent riot of Ratatouille or the wonderful world of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

The possibilities are endless – hopefully the ideas above will have got you hungry to create! As well as colourful costumes and decorations we’d also love to see some fantastic performance pieces (and there’s a special Carnival Trophy for ‘Best Performance’ up for grabs too), so if you’re a dancer or dance group, a musician or even a juggler or acrobat, then why not get involved!

FREE AFTER-PROCESSION PARTY!
All carnival participants were invited back to Gloucester Park after the procession and were entertained by Carnival Collective.

Frequently asked questions about the Carnival are available here.

THE PROCESSION ROUTE

Vehicle Route
All entries will start at Gloucester Park.  All vehicles will finish the Procession on Spa Road for participants to disembark.  Caution: Participants must never attempt to disembark whilst the vehicle is moving, however slowly.

Walking Route
Walking entries will start with vehicles from Gloucester Park and return to the Park at the end of the procession.  Limited parking will be allowed close to the Park for small equipment vehicles only.  Please let us know on the Entry Form (when this is available) if you need a vehicle parking space.

CATEGORIES, TROPHIES AND 2008 TROPHY WINNERS

MEDALS
Everyone who takes part will receive a special medal marking his or her contribution to the Gloucester Celebrates Carnival Procession.  Each group will be presented with their medals before the start of the procession.  For Category winners there are also a series of winner trophies…

JUDGING
All carnival entries will be judged on the following:-

• Use of materials, costume and design
• Originality
• Interpretation of the carnival theme

Spirit Of Togetherness Carnival Procession 2007

We are pleased to announce that the Gloucester Lions Club collected a grand total of £845.17 at the resheduled Carnival Procession on Sunday 16th September 2007. This money was be donated to the Gloucestershire Flood Relief Fund. The procession had been due to take place on Saturday 21st July 2007. It had to be cancelled on this date due to the flooding in Gloucester.

We would like to extend our thanks to everyone that took part in the procession on Sunday 16th September. We would particularly like to thank the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, SARAID (Search and Rescue Assistance in Disaster), RAF 22 Squadron Search and Rescue Force, RNLI, Gloucestershire Constabulary and the crew from HMS Ocean, Ark Royal, Gloucester, Northumberland and other ships of the Royal Navy who attended on Sunday.

Some 300 Royal Navy personnel worked alongside Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and troops from the Army including the Gurkhas to save Gloucester's power stations at Walham and Castlemeads during the flooding crisis. Gloucestershire would almost certainly have had to have been evacuated if it had not been for their assistance.

2007 Trophy Winners

Cool Runnings won the Carnival Trophy for the Best Children's entry

41st Gloucester Scouts won the Cotswold Federation of Community Associations Trophy for the Best Young People's entry

Gloucester Irish Club won the Henry Rogers Trophy for Best Club or Association for the best entry in the General category, and also won the Corporation of Gloucester Perpetual Carnival Challenge Cup for the entry judged to be the Best of the Best.

The Ultimate Party Shop won the Gloucester Chamber of Commerce Perpetual Challenge Trophy for the best Commercial entry.

Gloucester Coyotes won the Roger Payne Memorial Trophy for Best Performance in the Performers category.

The mayor, Harjit Gill, praised Gloucester Shopmobility in particular for their contribution on the day.

Return to main Gloucester Festival page

Go to Gloucester Guildhall page

Last Updated: Monday 21st July 2008