3:27pm Monday 6th July 2009
By Claire Marshall
THE streets of Thornbury were heaving with crowds eager to enjoy the resurrected Thornbury Carnival at the weekend.
Organisers say that they couldn’t possibly let people down by not holding the event again and have already set a date for next year’s carnival.
Around 11,000 people turned out on Saturday, thousands more than organisers had anticipated, and the crowds enjoyed the occasion.
A parade of over 1,000 people in costume marched through the streets to live music, over 130 stall holders provided interest and entertainment on the carnival field and people gasped with amazement as the Red Arrows soared above their heads to finish a perfect day.
So many people were at the carnival that they drunk the bar dry and there wasn't a seat to be had in the restaurants and cafes around the town.
Chairman of the carnival association David Goldring said he was thrilled with how successful the day was.
"There was such a huge sense of pride when the Red Arrows flew over, you could hear everyone gasping with excitement," he said.
"As I stood at the bottom of the high street after the parade and looked up I could just see a sea of people and faces.
"The pavements were crammed with people and it took a long time for them to all filter into the playing field.
"There was a real community feel at the event, but there were also a lot of people from outside Thornbury who travelled to the carnival and we are really pleased to show the town off to new people."
A date of July 3 has been set for next year’s carnival and organisers say it is likely to be a Caribbean theme.
Mr Goldring said that next year they will need more help from local people to run such a large and popular event.
"We would like to see more community groups get involved, just as the Thornbury Lions did, to help support the event," he added.
"Now we have the theme set, people can start getting ready for next year already."
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/trade_directory/