• Parade starts at 11.30 am.

The Carnival starts at 11:30am with a parade traveling along Park Road, Castle Street, High Street, Chapel Street and finally, St Mary Street.

It consists of all sorts of entries including classic cars and walking groups promoting local societies and charities. In 2009 we were joined by the Band of the Light Cavalry and in the Central Band of the RAF in 2010. 2011 we will be joined by The Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Logistic Corps.

The Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Logistic Corps.

Prizes for entries to the Carnival Parade

The committee has decided to offer prizes for judged sections of the Carnival Parade this year. There will be three sections: Adult, Secondary age and Primary/Pre-Primary ages. The age groupings do not define the need to be a member of any particular kind of group.

A team of judges will each have a list of entrants and use the same simple criteria to evaluate what they see. Judges will be scattered along the Parade route and will act independently in making their decisions. The scoring will be collated after the Parade and awards made from Stage 1 during the afternoon.

Fun on the Mundy Playing Fields

After the parade, the Carnival moves onto the Mundy Playing Fields, where a wide variety of attractions take place. In our first two years we have had a Fun Fair, stages, music, lots of child-centred entertainment and play-equipment, sports activities, exhibitions, refreshments, a Hog Roast, the ‘Carnival Tavern’ beer tent and approximately one hundred and fifty stalls, including those in our dedicated marquee for crafters.

Martial Arts Display

Hog Roast

Jewellery Stall

There is no charge to watch the parade and but there is a small cost for entrance to the Carnival Field (the Mundy Playing Fields).

How much are the entrance charges?

• £1 for Primary age children
• £2 for Adults and Secondary age children.
• Programmes, @ £1, are not a part of the entry charge, and will carry vouchers worth hundreds of pounds in local businesses.

If you or your group were involved on the day and are keen to purchase copies of any of these pictures, visit the Thornbury Camera Club website to contact the relevant photographer.

The parade was a rainbow of colour, crazy costumes, classic vehicles and musical delights.

We even had our first ‘float’ in the parade!

As people lined the streets, Thornbury was imbued with the community spirit at the heart of the day.

After the parade the crowds poured onto the Carnival Field to sample the stallholders delights…

…watch some fantastic displays…

…and witness some brilliant musical performances both on the stages and on the field.

 There were a host of gastronomic delights available, rides galore at Albert Rogers’ Fun Fair and in the evening a brilliant production of ‘Fat Shirley’s: A Trailer Park Opera’ performed by Bristol’s very own The Three Chords Co.

Thank you to everyone who came to the Carnival on Saturday, to all our volunteers and supporters and to the Litter Busters who returned the Mundys to their clean and tidy glory after the event!

The next Thornbury Carnival will take place on Saturday 2nd July 2011. If you would like to get involved next year, please get in touch, we would love to hear from you!

At lunchtime, we found the delicious smells wafting down the street too much to bear and just had to sample some of the delights of the other stalls – be it cakes from Absolutely Cakes or some of Ivor’s Ice Cream, there was something for everyone!

This weekend you can find the Thornbury Carnival Association at Wyevale Garden Centre in Thornbury and Almondsbury Garden Centre. So come on by and say ‘hello’!

Don’t forget there’s an Open Meeting at Turnberries in Thornbury on Sunday 27th June (this Sunday) which is especially important if you are taking part in the Carnival. Here you can collect the passes you will need and find out valuable information about the structure of the day. 

We hope all of your preparations for the big day are coming along and we look forward to seeing you there.  

Thank you to the parents who let us use these fabulous pictures

The Carnival Programme features a myriad of articles and two pages of discount vouchers you can use in local businesses. There is a schedule of activities and performances as well as a map of the site.

With so much to offer and so many vouchers and discounts inside, we think it’s fantastic value at just £1.00!

There is no charge to watch the Parade and a minimal charge for entrance to the Carnival Field in the afternoon:

Adults: £2

Children £1

The parade starts in Castle Street at 10.30am and the gates open on the Carnival Field at 12.00pm. The site will close at 8.00pm.

In 2009, over 10,000 people attended the Carnival, so this year we will have separate queues for those who have purchased their tickets in advance.

Although you can purchase programmes and tickets in selected locations on the High Street, members of the Committee will also be selling them in the following places:

Almondsbury Garden Centre
Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th June

Wyevale Garden Centre (Thornbury)
Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th June

Thornbury Farmers’ Market
Thursday 1st July

A big thank you to The Thornbury Falcons who will also be doing some door-to-door selling for us!

For a full list of where to pick up tickets and programmes, visit the Ticket and Programme page on this site.

We asked Tim Pearce, the Thornbury Carnival Association Vice Chairman and a Managing Director of our Principal Sponsor, Castle Estate Agents Ltd, to talk a bit about his involvement:

“I feel proud, as a local Estate Agent, to have been instrumental in regenerating Thornbury Carnival. It was my idea to resurrect the carnival after 14 years in the wilderness and I did this for several reasons, not least of which was the memory of being on a Carnival float myself all those years ago! In those days I was the manager of “Sandoe Luce Panes” and we were delighted to be part of the carnival and even provided our own trailer as a float.

Carnivals are vital to communities our size as they provide an event in which the whole community can become involved. Thornbury, as a town, has so much going for it but, for most of the year, community events centre upon specific skills, hobbies and pastimes. A Carnival is a vehicle upon which all of these and many other community ventures can become involved.

At Castle Estate Agents, we support many local groups and are dedicated to the furtherance of Thornbury as a thriving and desirable market town. This is why we are avid supporters of Carnival and take pride in having been instrumental in its regeneration. As a busy Estate Agent my only regret is not having the time to be an executive member of the working party but, as vice chair, I still get “hands on” on a regular basis and am thrilled to see the way this year’s event is shaping up. Rest assured there are some very hard working and dedicated people working on a daily basis to make this year’s Carnival an even bigger success than last year’s, and that is a formidable target!”

The Thornbury Carnival Association is a voluntary organisation and as such we need enthusiastic members of the community to help us on the day.

We currently need help in three areas of the organisation:

Morning Setup

Set-up will start at about 7am and we need people who can provide general assistance around the Carnival Field, helping stallholders and organisers with various tasks. If you are willing to help but cannot start at 7am, don’t worry, just get in touch and volunteer for the time you are available.

Gate Teams

We need people to sell tickets and provide assistance at the pedestrian entrance leading from The Close. Starting at 11.30am you would be part of a team working in hour long shifts. Resources will be supplied.

Programme Sellers

Finally, we need people to sell Carnival programmes near the gates.

If you are interested please email Margaret Goldring thegoldrings[at]hotmail.com detailing your name, phone number and the times you are available.

During 1981(the International Year of The Disabled) several people, including stroke victims and their carers, saw the need for an organisation to support stroke victims when discharged from hospital. The Thornbury and District Stroke Support Group was formed. During the following years a programme of activities developed to help stroke victims overcome some of their disabilities.

In the UK somebody has a stroke every 5 minutes which will result in some form of disability. This is not always major but help may be required to overcome speech, sight, mobility and possibly having only one useful hand. Stroke is the major cause of disability in the UK.

Our local membership now comprises of 30 full members who are entitled to use all activities. We have a few stroke victims who attend some of the smaller groups only as they reside outside of our area. All stroke members have a linked volunteer they can contact if problems occur.

Social activities are provided on a fortnightly basis, May – September, outings and visits and September – May, meetings in the Jubilee Hall Alveston which alternate between Art Club and Chat Room. There is also an Indoor Bowls group. Swimming sessions are organised weekly throughout the year. These supplement the personal contact and assistance given by a stroke victim- linked volunteer.

We are indebted to the many people and local groups who have given us financial support, it would not have been possible to continue and improve our services without their help. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU. Transport is an important aspect of our work and a major expenditure. Like many others we are finding our present financial situation very uncomfortable and would welcome any support people are able to offer, financial or otherwise.

For more information visit our stall at the Carnival or visit our website www.thornburystrokegroup.co.uk or contact John Donaldson 01454 416072 or Isobel Burnham 01454 415161.

Firstly, there will be all sorts of music for you to enjoy in the parade and on the Carnival Field. Headlining the list is the Central Band of the RAF. We have faced fierce competition from other events around the country, but the Central Band will lead the parade and perform two sets on Stage Two during the afternoon.

Last year’s favourites Kaya Drums and Irish Folk group ‘Mo, Mac ‘n’ Me’, will be among this year’s musical delights, and will be joined by City of Bristol Pipes and Drums, Caribbean Melody Steel Band, Thornbury Orchestra, and Concord Saxophone Quartet.

From midday you can head to Albert Rogers’ Fun Fair and have a go on all your favourite rides, or get involved in one of a host of activities on the Carnival Field including line dancing workshops with The Three Chords Co.

Interweaving the stages and activities there will be a myriad of stalls including local clubs and societies, exhibitions, businesses and charities. 

New to this year’s Carnival is the ‘Meet the Maker’s’ marquee. Here you will find a range of handmade goods from clothes and jewellery to food and art. It’s the perfect place to find something special as a treat for yourself or a present for others. Click here to visit the list of this year’s Stallholders.

The sponsor of this year’s vehicle section, Dick Lovett Mini, will be joined by Berkeley Vale Motors, Thornbury Motors and Cromhall Refinishing in the display of classic cars, military and commercial vehicles. Joe Nemeth’s 1940’s “Road Up” display will be a highlight and there will be some other steam content for you to enjoy.

If you would like to display your prized vehicle in the parade or on the ground, please contact us as soon as possible for further information.

For those who like “radio things”, not only will the Thornbury & South Glos Amateur Radio Club be running a display, but the popular Tank Command display from 2009 will be joined by the Yate & Sodbury Model Boat Club as well as the Beaufort Model Flying Club’s display.

If you like good food, we are sure you will find something to tempt your taste buds at the Carnival. There is a big refreshment service provided by Napier Catering (praised last year for its quality and pricing) as well as Mike Perry’s Hog roast and new this year, you will find Bristol’s acclaimed pie producers Pieminister on the Field.

The Carnival Tavern will be accompanied by a Wine Bar and adjacent Cheese & Biscuits stall this year. Meanwhile, you can keep cool in the summer sun with Ivor’s Ice Cream. If that’s not enough, Albert Rogers Fun Fair will have food vans and a Candy Floss stall to keep you going.

You can also enjoy a picnic on the field. An ideal time to do so is during the early evening as you sit down, relax and watch The Three Chords Co production of ‘Fat Shirley’s: A Trailer Park Opera’  on Stage 1 (starting at 6.30pm).

Finally, at 8pm, when the refreshment stalls have closed and the final note of ‘Fat Shirley’s’ has been sung, you can head home to bed for a well-earned rest.

They were advised by the Police to install a CCTV system to improve security, but the cost of the system, estimated at £1,300, was beyond their means and as a result, an application was made to the Thornbury Carnival Association Charitable Giving Fund for assistance.

After due consideration, a donation of £750 was made by the Association towards the cost of the installation.

On Tuesday 18th May 2010 the cheque was presented to Debbie Brock by David Goldring, Chairman of the Carnival Association, in the presence of Lorraine Saich, Charitable Giving sub-Committee, and Neighbourhood PC Natalie Draper. Debbie said they were “delighted to receive such a generous donation from Thornbury Carnival.”

Thornbury Carnival Association was equally delighted to be able to help and hopes that its support will enable the Tytherington volunteers to keep doing their great work in a more secure environment.

The full list of beneficiaries thus far will appear in the 2010 Carnival programme which will be available in June. Details of where to get hold of a programme and advance tickets will be posted on this site in due course, so keep checking in or subscribe to our posts to keep up to date!