Plans are in motion to bring back the once beloved carnival spirit to St Neots through a festival parade.
Brian Moore, from St Neots, had the idea months ago to bring back the carnival to the town and set up a Facebook group which quickly snowballed to 382 members.
After speaking with the town council, Brian was given the green light to organise a parade in conjunction with the organisers of St Neots Festival 2023, taking place on June 24 and 25.
"Through social media, I was overwhelmed with the amount of comments, messages and offers of support to try and make this happen," explained Brian.
"From speaking with many people, I can see how very special the carnival was here before it dissolved in 2008.
"Although I have only lived in St Neots for the last 10 years, I was brought up in North London.
"The annual carnival was always the highlight of the year, bringing the community together."
A lack of funding, health and safety measures and volunteer support ground the annual carnival to a halt in 2008, but Brian is planning on doing things differently this time.
By co-aligning with the festival, the parade will avoid those obstacles and go around Priory Park rather than forcing expensive road closures.
Health and safety protocols dictate that there won't be floats, but a parade will "bring the community together."
The St Neots carnival once had 30 floats galivanting through the streets of the town, and although Brain admits the parade won't "be the Carnival as we once knew and loved," he hopes to bring back the spirit which made it so special.
Brian added: "The aim for year one will be to bring a sense of the spirit and energy back into what will be a Festival Parade running around.
"If all goes well and the momentum is building with support, participation and funding, then in year two, we will look to extend the parade back onto the road.
"Hopefully, it will become a regular annual event, and people will come to see the ever-growing parade through Priory Park."
Now all Brian and the Festival Parade need is committed support.
To join the group or keep updated, visit The St Neots Parade Facebook group or register your interest by emailing SNparadeteam@hotmail.com.
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