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Sheppey’s first all-pedestrian ‘green’ summer carnival parade took place in Sheerness on Saturday led by Whitstable’s Pelo Mer samba band.
There were no lorries, cars, or floats. Instead, there were just walkers, wheelchairs, buggies, a couple of bikes and mobility scooters. Even Sheppey’s carnival court had to go on foot.
It was probably the Island’s shortest ever carnival but organisers are hoping its green credentials will catch on.
Chris Reed of the Big Fish arts group and a member of Sheerness Town Council, which took over the carnival when the McCall family stopped organising the event two years ago, organised four pre-parade workshops and had appealed for shops, organisations and groups to take part.
Among those walking the High Street and Broadway, which were closed to traffic during the parade, were members of the Sheppey Bluetits sea swimming club, pageant queens, and pensioner Tim Bell in his helicopter-styled mobility scooter collecting money for the air ambulance with his helpers Denise Harden and his sister Leaf Brunger.
Even Brenda Crees, 82, ventured out from Blackburn Lodge care home - “the first time for months” - to take part and ended up winning a clutch of teddy bears from a charity stall. She was pushed in her wheelchair by Paula Fagg.
Cllr Reed said: “Considering we only had three weeks to organise it, following the government’s relaxing of its Covid restrictions, I think it was splendid. It was small but perfectly formed. It had a great atmosphere.
“We weren’t expecting a massive turnout but I would have liked to have seen a few more.
"People hark back to previous years and say how wonderful carnivals were then but there is nothing stopping them taking part now. They don’t even have to find a big, polluting lorry. Hopefully, it will grow.”
It also marked the first public appearance this year of the Sheppey carnival court featuring Miss Sheppey Darcey Kidd, princesses Deanna Berrisford and Aaliyah Lewin, Junior Miss Sheppey Sky Cornelius and her princesses Isabelle McCarrick and Bleu-belle Ellis and little Miss Rosebud Bebe Rogers.
The girls will be back on their float for Leysdown carnival on Saturday.
The day coincided with the traditional Hollands funfair at Beachfields with a haunted house, dodgems, waltzer, helter skelter and white-knuckle rides and culminated with a free seafront fireworks display courtesy of amusement arcade boss Thomas Holland.
Those gripped by festival fever won’t have long to wait until the next one.
This Saturday Sheerness plays host to a pop-up fusion street party from 10.30am to 1pm, provided by Gurvinder Sander of the Kent Equality Cohesion Council.
He said: “It will involve everything from brass, samba and bhangra to a roaming dinosaur plus the fantastic and local Big Fish Arts.”
The event is backed by Swale and Sheerness councils.
Leysdown has its own traditional carnival parade on the same day starting at 2pm with lorries, floats, bands and carnival queens. A free return bus service will pick up carnival-lovers from Sheerness bus station at 11.30am and make a stop in The Broadway, Minster.
The procession will go from Little Groves holiday park to the promenade and back.
