A weekend of fun and festivity as St Ives Carnival returns

Crowds packed into St Ives at the weekend for two days of fun and festivity at the town’s annual carnival and music festival.

On Saturday, July 8, hundreds of people lined the streets as organisations from in and around the town paraded in their costumes to represent a range of different community groups.

There was also a Caledonian Pipe Band, Egyptian Dancers and Samba, adding a festival atmosphere to proceedings.

St Ives mayor, Councillor Philip Pope, said: “The whole day was amazing, it was probably the biggest I’ve ever seen it and the weather certainly helped – the day was really impressive.

“All the floats by the schools and businesses were really impressive.”

In the afternoon there was fun for all the family in Hill Rise Park with a funfair, food stalls and fireworks to finish the joy-filled day.

Saturday evening drew a large audience for a new part of the weekend, Proms in the Park - which featured Huntingdonshire Concert Band and Cambridge Fireworks.

The band entertained the crowd for more than two hours and the evening was brought to a crescendo with the night sky being lit up in style with a firework finale whilst Land of Hope and Glory resounded around the park.

“At the proms in the park there was a real sense of community with everyone waving Union Jacks and singing,” Cllr Pope added.

Then, on Sunday, families and music lovers descended on Hill Rise Park again to enjoy a host of local bands and musicians.

There was a mix of Motown, soul, rock ‘n’ roll, and a Queen tribute band to round off the weekend.

A spokesman for the festival said: “The feedback received has overall been impressive and very positive, with people already wanting to know what next year will bring!”