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In pictures: A real buzz as Arbury Carnival goes back to the 1980s and 90s




Thousands were entertained by Arbury Carnival, which went back in time with the theme of ‘We love the 80s and 90s’.

The popular annual event, held on Saturday (8 June), was first held in 1977 to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.

All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell

Returning to Arbury Town Park, the carnival’s attractions this year included magician and performer JezO, who has a new role with Britain’s Got Talent, along with a procession, fairground rides, entertainment, community groups and trader stalls, and a variety of food stalls.

All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell

Stephen Doel, the 2024 Arbury Carnival chair, said: “It was amazing, we were thrilled. Apart from one person, it was an all-new committee this year and it went really well – it was very busy.

“I think we had many more people than we’ve had in other years; the weather probably helped because it wasn’t boiling hot and it wasn’t rainy or windy. And it felt like people stayed around for quite a long time during the day, which was nice.”

As ever, there was a colourful procession, along with arena acts and more than 50 stalls entertained the crowds, the majority of them community-focused in nature.

“The fairground rides were very popular through the day,” added Stephen. “We did something a bit different with the procession this year.

“I’ve been in the procession for many years and it always starts at one end of Northfield Avenue and it seems a little unstructured, so we started it on Nuns Way Recreation Ground and everybody walked through a nice balloon arch at the start.

“The mayor officially started it and we had music, lots of different groups and having that buzz at the start made it much more of an event for everybody.”

All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell
All the fun of Arbury Carnival. Picture: Keith Heppell

The arena featured a mixture of local dance groups, with Stephen noting: “We started off with a steel band, which went down really well, and then JezO, who comperes the carnival and various other local events, did his magic act halfway through. Loads of people sat watching it.”

[Read more: In pictures: Arbury Carnival is a riot of colour and fun, In pictures: Arbury Carnival celebrates the Queen’s Jubilee]

JezO is now a magic consultant for the Britain’s Got Talent TV show.

“He’s been flat out down there whilst Britain’s Got Talent has been on, and then he came back up at the beginning of the week to do the carnival, so to have somebody of his calibre at the carnival was really good,” said Stephen.

It is thought up to about 5,000 attended the carnival, with up to 1,500 gathering on the green at its peak.

“The arena was eight deep at times – I’ve never seen it that busy,” said Stephen.



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