¬†This year, 45,000 people came to join the festivities at Oxfordshire’s celebration of the East Oxford community on 5 July. Hundreds of musicians, dancers and performers took part on stages and at venues all the way along the Cowley Road, as well as other adjacent areas.
Carnival Day itself is the culmination of a series of community events and a year’s work by the organisers Cowley Road Works. Many of the pre-Carnival events act as fundraisers for the day itself, and others draw the community together in preparations, such as making costumes and instruments for the procession. Thirty-four separate groups took part in the procession this year, themed ‚ÄòCreating our Future’ in celebration of Oxford Brookes University’s 150-year anniversary, including 11 schools.
The Carnival contributes nearly ¬£900,000 to the local economy but funding always presents a challenge to the organisers. This year saw the launch of the ‚ÄòGive a Quid for Carnival’ campaign to encourage carnival-goers to make donations to help cover the costs, which are in excess of ¬£120,000 for the event, including to pay for the clean-up operation, first aid, staging, event management and road closures. The performers all contribute their time for nothing, as do the many volunteers who help steward and marshal the event.
Danielle Battigelli, the Executive Director of Cowley Road Works charity said: “We celebrated the end of another wonderful year for Carnival - and started planning for next year straightaway! Especially as we organise so many other events and activities over the 12 months leading up to the big day.
“As ever, we would like people to get stuck and in and get involved. If you would like to sponsor Carnival 2016, help organize a fundraising event or with the preparations please get in touch.
“Finally, I would like to underline our thanks to our funders and sponsors such as Oxford City Council, Oxford Brookes University, MINI Plant Oxford and Hobgoblin; the volunteers; performers, and everyone else who helped make Carnival 2015 such a great success.‚Äù
If you would like to find out more about sponsorship, fundraising or volunteering opportunities, please email info@cowleyroadworks.org. You can donate through the website www.cowleyroadcarnival.co.uk where you can also keep up to date with news.