£1k donation gives boost to carnival hopes

The event has been an important part of the resort’s tradition for at least 70 years, attracting thousands of visitors for a week of special family activities.

However, before this year’s event there were fears for its future unless more funding and donations could be found.

Paul Dixon, chairman of the Carnival Committee, warned: “Changes in legislation mean carnivals are very expensive to put on, with road closures and security to pay for.

“We desperately need more donations and volunteers.”

Taking note was one of the resort’s leading businesses and, on the run-up to Christmas, Bell Leisure presented the Carnival Committee with a cheque for £1,000.

Janice Thomson, Carnival Committee secretary, said: “We are really grateful to Bell Leisure. It’s brilliant to get this amount – no-one has ever given us that much before.

“Next year’s carnival has been booked for August 13-18, but there is still a long way to go before it can go ahead. We are facing huge expenses – ambulance and paramedics and road closures cost £9,500 alone.

“ Then we have to replace a gazebo that we lost in a storm at Friskney show and that will be another £800.

“But the cheque from Bell Leisure is a good start. We’ve also had a donation of £100 from when Morrison’s opened its new superstore.”

George Thompson, manager at Bell Leisure, said: “The carnival is such a good thing for the town that we wanted to get the ball rolling by donating £1,000. Hopefully now other people will make donations too.”

The theme for next year’s carnival is Circus. Janice said: “Last year’s carnival was one of the busiest in years. The support from businesses was fantastic and we’ll be contacting them early regarding next year. It promises to be really exciting with Mr Fips Wonder Circus getting involved. We just need support now to make it happen.”

Anyone interested in getting involved can contact the committee of the Skegness Carnival Facebook page.