Carnival atmosphere in town
BEESTON was in full swing at the weekend as the annual carnival returned to the town complete with live music, parades and pop-up shops.
Hundreds lined the streets of the town centre on Saturday for the parade from the town hall to Broadgate Park.
The event has now been taking place for 14 years thanks to the hard work of Beeston-based councillors Lynda Lally, 60, and husband Pat, 62.
Lynda said: “Over the time we’ve been doing this the carnival has just grown and grown tremendously and it really is a key event in the town’s calendar. It is a lot of hard work to put it all together. But we absolutely love doing it.
“In the early days it was harder but now every year I can rely on the incredible bank of volunteers that we have who are just amazing and we really could not do this without them.”
Among the organisations represented at the parade was Middle Street Resource Centre, a charity that provides support for people with mental health issues. Representing the charity was trustee John Chambers, 75, of Wollaton, and Michael Carlin, 57, of Bulwell.
John said: “It’s a good way of raising awareness across the town about what we do. As well as that, I’m always really impressed by the way the whole of Beeston gets behind the event and it just goes to reflect the fantastic and vibrant culture there is in this town.”
The parade was led by bagpipes, cadets and the carnival’s prince and princess – brother and sister Chelsea Darckins, nine, and Kieran Hydes, 10.
The events then turned to the Broadgate Park where hundreds enjoyed a range of entertainment from skating to mini-tennis.
Tom Cava-smith, 33, from Chilwell, was there with wife Ivy, 32, and daughter Rachel, four.
Tom said: “I’m really pleased we’ve been able to come down to the carnival because in previous years we’ve sometimes been on holiday or not been able to make it for other reasons.
“Our friend has a stall here so we wanted to come and support her as well but from what I’ve seen so far it’s a bustling atmosphere and I think it’s really good to have something like this in Beeston.”
Also attending were friends Carol Settle, 65, from Beeston, and Jean Glasser, 69, of Bramcote.
Carol said: “I’ve lived in Beeston for 40 years and it’s great to see an event like this in the town. The turnout is great and it’s something that brings a really diverse range of people from across the community together.”
Having only been in the country for five months, the event provided a chance for 34-year-old Mohammadreza Ilkhani and his family to get to know the community.
He was there with partner Mahsa Sadat, 34, and son Parsa Ilkhani, 5, who now live in Beeston after arriving in the country from Iran.
Mohammadreza said: “We’ve all really enjoyed it and we managed to see the parade which was lovely to watch going through the town. You get a real sense of community when you come to an event like this and it’s great to see that community coming together to celebrate the town.”