Much to cheer as Town Carnival fortnight begins
THE Town Carnival, which began on Saturday, will feature the largest number of local acts yet.
The annual event runs until Saturday 28 July with performances taking place daily at various locations between 10.30am and 3.30pm but excluding Sunday.
‘We have 34 local acts taking part which is highest number yet,’ said Town Centre Partnership executive officer Jack Honeybill.
‘They include many youngsters, some of whom will be performing in public for the first time.’
Performances this week will last for one hour but from Monday slots will be reduced to 30 minutes to accommodate six acts that will be joining the Town Carnival from the UK.
They include a Punch and Judy act, the II Destino tenors, a steel band and jazz bands.
Clowns Sunny and Rainbow, who have proved popular in past years, will be missing from the programme.
‘That is because we have fewer sponsors this year but the amount we still have is absolutely fantastic,’ said Mr Honeybill.
The event costs £50,000 to put on and all money is raised through sponsorship with support from the Guernsey Arts Commission.
‘We have collected £43,000 so far and we hope to get the rest through the collection buckets.’
A total of 10,000 programmes have been printed that will be handed out to visiting cruise ship passengers and those arriving on Condor Liberation and 120 posters have been positioned around the Town and on buses.
David and Mary Monro, both retired, from Inverness, Scotland, who were visiting Guernsey for the third or fourth time said the event got their backing.
‘It’s lovely and great for people who might be wandering around the Town looking for things to do,’ said Mr Monro.
‘Guernsey is a very laid back place and we’ve always found the people here very friendly and willing to help.’
