Nottingham Caribbean Carnival

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Nottingham Carnival : B&W Photographically derived imagery

The Nottingham Carnival has a very long history going back to 1958 when a number of men and women who had immigrated to Nottingham from Caribbean island of St Kitts decided to promote their cultural identity by organising a small carnival event in an area of Nottingham called the Meadows. They made colourful costumes reflecting the American Indian style of dress which is a traditional form of carnival costume making in the Caribbean islands. They paraded around the area to the sounds of steel band and calypso introducing traditional Caribbean entertainment to the people of Nottingham.
Between 1958 and the early nineties the carnival was held sporadically and many attempts to revive the event failed mainly due to a lack of resources. However, in the early nineties the Carnival was revived again up until 1998 when the event was cancelled by the City Council due to concerns over health and safety and financing of the event. This resulted in a significant outcry from the local community who demonstrated their displeasure by staging a large march in the City Centre. This acted as the catalyst for the Carnival we see today.
Since 1999, the Carnival has developed into a truly multi-cultural annual event displaying hundreds of high quality carnival art costumes, plus numerous musicians including local, national and international stars.
Rampage performer / dancer said: “Carnival is very inclusive, it doesn’t matter what age you are, what gender, what ability, it’s here for everyone,”

‘Pageturner’ video at: https://youtu.be/kQurSShHNWI