Carnival 2023: Now we are 10
Whitley Bay Carnival celebrated its 10th birthday from 26th -28th May 2023 with a 3 day celebratory event at the Spanish City Plaza and Links with a carnival parade at its heart. Led by professional artists, local people worked in carnival clubs on the creation of costumes, music, dance and parade structures. Artists and locals shared skills and had master classes with carnival artists. The Carnival parade, a costumed homemade extravaganza of costumes and parade pieces representing birthday treats bursting with everything from French fancies and trifle to birthday candles and magic tricks took centre stage gathering crowds through the shopping streets from the metro station and leading them to the sea for an afternoon of picnics, party games, sack races, egg and spoon and tug of war.
The carnival showed the world what a unique and special place Whitley Bay is.
This combination of creative residents and ten years of continuous community development around the carnival with three years of financial support 2019 - 2022 from Creative Civic Change has meant year round engagement with community band rehearsals and carnival clubs creating places where professionals and amateurs work together to create a high quality warm and welcoming event.
Programme
Within the programme of the carnival we look to showcase new and emerging performers, local artists who live here but rarely perform on their doorstep and street music and theatre which echoes the themes of the carnival and supports the environmental ethos and spirit of the overall event. Our strategy will continue to aim to be diverse and thought provoking. We want people to see high quality work whether from amateurs or professionals within our programme making Whitley Bay Carnival worth coming to by bringing things to our town that people won’t have seen before.
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We need your help to make the party happen. Whitley Bay Carnival is for everyone from babes in arms to our most elderly elders , it’s all about joy, family, togetherness and fun, it’s a year round programme of creative workshops, rehearsals and community feeding the spectacular late May bank holiday celebration we have come to love. A special moment grown out of the energy and support of the community that puts the town on the carnival map along with Notting Hill and Liverpool and Leeds but we need funds to keep it going.
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SALTo Arts created short film showcasing Whitley Bay Carnival 2022, and highlighting community involvement in this spectacular event. Watch here.