Carnival fun for villages

Posted on July 4, 2007

It's carnival time for Eaton Bray and Edlesborough this Saturday, the biggest event of the year in the villages.

All sorts of fun has been lined up for St Mary's Village Carnival, including a record number of stalls and attractions.

BBC Three Counties Radio presenter and consumer champion Stephen Rhodes will open the carnival, to be held on Edlesborough Green.

The carnival procession starts out from The Orchards, Eaton Bray, at 12.30pm and arrives at Edlesborough Green at 1.30pm.

Favourite Adverts is the theme for the procession, and there will be lots of people in fancy dress in the parade.

Every year, homes along the route are decked out in line with the procession theme, too, and take part in the Best Dressed House contest.

Exciting new attractions at the carnival include the Mont Blanc climbing wall, and a silent auction offering a chance to bid for some great goodies.

Other features will include the annual companion dog show, with entries from 10.30am and judging at noon.

There will also be a spectacular chainsaw carving display, a troupe of belly dancers and a bigger-than-ever collection of vintage and classic vehicles.

And once again there will also be a quirky worm-charming competition. Clarabelle, the pantomime cow, will also be visiting the carnival for a contest which involves people guessing where she will leave a special deposit in the arena.

Presiding over all the fun will be Carnival Queen Melissa Sibley, Carnival Princess Bethan Roberts, and attendants Emma Baldwin and Katie Neal.

St Mary's Village Carnival started life as a small church fete, but has rapidly grown to become a major local event.

In 2006, the carnival raised a hefty £10,000 for local good causes.

This year, a quarter of the proceeds raised will go to help to improve vehicle access at Edlesborough Cemetery, and a further quarter will benefit other worthy local causes.

The cemetery access work is a much-needed project, especially for people who are disabled or elderly, as the long and slippery path often cannot accommodate vehicles.

Canon Malcolm Grant said: "Because I walk with bereaved people at times of great personal distress, I can assure you the cemetery project will make a very real difference to the people of this parish.

"I have known widows who have had to sit alone in a car at the roadside while their soulmate of more than half a century is laid to rest - because the distance, even in a wheelchair, was too great and cars could not be taken to the new part of the cemetery."

The remaining half of the proceeds from the carnival will go towards maintaining St Mary's Church, Eaton Bray.

To find out more, check out www.stmarysvillagecarnival.com.

- The River Ousel Duck Race will be getting under way on Saturday, July 14 this year. It's all happening on the river by The Meads, Eaton Bray. Tickets will be available at the carnival.

Source: Anne O'Donoghue, Dunstable Gazette, 4 July 2007