Largest Newbury Carnival hailed as a huge success

Thousands of people lined the streets to watch the 63 parade entries pass by while the town centre was transported back in time with entries including the French Revolution, Travels in Narnian Time and Doctor Who.
Carnival Chairman, Bryan Harper, said that the start of the parade was his favourite part of the day and seeing a smile on everyone’s face.
“[It’s got to be] everyone lined up in Pound Street. You get such a sense of achievement and the atmosphere is electric,” he said.

This year’s Carnival reached new heights when the Battle of Britain Memorial fly past, consisting of an Avro Lancaster and a Hawker Hurricane, arrived with military precision at 3.10pm and buzzed the town with three low passes.
The fun was already underway in Victoria Park with live music and a funfair running alongside a record number of 124 charity and food stalls keeping people entertained and refreshed until the parade starting winding its way through the streets.
Photographers from the Newbury Weekly News were kept busy taking hundreds of pictures of families, children and couples throughout the day and you can see the pictures at www.newburytoday.co.uk/picture-gallery
There was another first for the carnival as the John Rankin Schools, Winchcombe School and the Newbury Twin Town Association shared the top prize for the best overall entry - with Travels in Narnian Time, Rock Around the Clock and the French Revolution respectively.

Organisers said they could not have asked for a better day.
Carnival chairman, Bryan Harper, said: “It’s been massively successful. There were a record number of parade entries, stalls and people in the streets.
“The great thing is that thousands of pounds gets raised for different charities and good causes on carnival day and we’re delighted with the amount of money it raises.”
Mr Harper also thanked all of those who had helped make the day a huge success.

“The carnival would not have happened without the stewards and members of the carnival committee. They are a truly professional team and it’s been a pleasure working with all of them,” he said.
With this year’s event breaking all records Mr Harper said that the carnival team would be looking for ways to build on the day’s success.
“It’s grown to such a size so we’ll have to look at what we do next and we’ll be making a decision later this year as to how we will move forward,” he said.