The Weymouth Carnival C.I.C have high hopes this year with bringing back the most iconic event in Weymouth; the carnival.
Weymouth has played host to the Carnival for the last 100 years bringing in money to the local economy and much needed tourism.
A new committee group which was formed in August 2022 believes they are very confident of bringing back Weymouth Carnival after previous years of disruption and financial issues. The huge event was previously held each August and commonly placed on the second week of that month, with a procession, funfair rides, beach events and a Red Arrows display being a regular highlight in recent years.
The committee’s management team comprises of Kallum Gethins, Director and Chairman, John Simpson, Director and Vice-Chairman and Linda Skelton, secretary.
Initial fees have been paid for the event’s insurance, a grant application has been submitted to National Lottery for consideration and a fundraising team has been set up. Mr Gethins said during the inaugural meeting that organising the revived event would be a “massive challenge” but noted bringing back Weymouth Carnival “is not just for the benefit of the local economy, it will benefit Weymouth and its vital communities.”
Speaking to DorsetLive after the meeting, Mr Gethins said their initial plans have won some community and business support and envision a similar event to previous years including a music event. He added: “I grew up with the carnival, and that’s why I hated the fact that the 2018 carnival was the last one unless anyone else would take it on board, so I felt the need to bring my experience in running a business into fruition that will benefit everybody in Weymouth.”
Kallum also mentioned that it is also important to be as transparent as possible to help gain the public trust in returning the carnival as previous attempts to revive the event were over shadowed by a lack of transparency, so for this the committee will release press statements each month leading up to the carnival to provide the public with updates.
John Simpson also mentioned that “Your carnival needs you and having spoken to lots of people over the last few weeks, I get the same answers from them… It’ll be good to see carnival return. It is up to the residents of Weymouth to help bring back the iconic venture back. If everybody donated £1, it would be fantastic as we need to raise a lot of money. If you feel as if you would like to get involved i.e volunteer or committee then please do get in-touch! “
We are hosting a music event on the 25th February 2023 to help raise funds for the carnival and bring people together listening to club classics!
