The 120th anniversary goes out with a bang.

31/08/2008 by admin.

Last night (30th Aug 2008) proved to be a wonderful evening of spectacle from the Massed band of 120 musicians for 120 years and the “Celebration” Queen costume at the front of the carnival to The Renegades of Rampage Mas Band from Luton.

The evening was everything we had all hoped the sun shone during the day leaving us with a balmy evening which lifted spirits. The crows was absolutely amazing with the streets packed with locals and visitors alike. People joined in from the crowd, they were entertained by RAW Samba prior to the carnival setting off in the high street. The Masses Band of 120 musicians marched ahead of the procession stopping on a regular basis to entertain the waiting crowds.

The Queen costume lead the rest of the parade with rapturous applause and cheering as the costume was spun giving the crowd a glittering  star  and balloon filled vision. The Ryde carnival float came out in full glory with bubbles flowing through the air and the horses lit from inside giving a surreal undersea glow, our young people partied away as usual. Then came the islands own community carnival group Mas Fusion with their outstanding Migoto Matsuri Festival of 120 members who danced and cheered their way around the route showing what a superb quality of carnival is achievable on the Island and proving that the Island is up there with the best designers and groups from the mainland.

Local schools joined in, including Ryde High School who produced a wonderful tableau with well choreographed dance routines that deserved all the applause and cheers they received. Greenmount Samba band headed by their brilliant headteacher Richard May  with their dancers showed just how far schools are able to encompass adults and children alike in carnival.  The beautiful “Butterflies and bugs” from Bishop Lovett worked wonders with their beautiful fluttering display of dance.  The Carnival Centre brought the wonderful “Earth Magic” troupe to the streets with a fabulous music and infectious dance routines again receiving cheers as they traveled the route.

“Santa’s Confused.com” thrilled us all with their wonderfully wacky take on global warming with prancing reindeer who kept collapsing due to heat exhaustion, Christmas fairies, elves, baubles and of course Mr and Mrs Clause with all the fun of the pantomime thrown in. Another brilliant local group was the Wight Strollers who’s “Biggles” tableaux produced some classic flight formations which the crowds absolutely loved.

The three visiting Mas Bands from London and Luton gave the carnival extra punch and thrill and were very well received with their fun and very energetic dance routines interdispersed with beautiful costumes ranging from giant wasps to beautiful butterflies, magic carpets and eastern promise, beautiful flags and banners. We are so pleased that they were able to join in our celebrations of what had to be the highlight of the carnival season on the Isle of Wight.

In between the various large troupes were the Queen’s Floats from the other Carnival Associations from around the island adding beauty and grace to the parade, it was lovely to see all of the floats  at the parade. There were also tributes to Abba with a group named “Mamma Mia” highlighting the never ending popularity of this group and of course the  film and stage show, there was also a “Thriller” group remembering that Michael Jackson was 50 on Friday. Grease was also represented by a group with Sandy and Danny dancing on the back of their car.  Ryde Extreme Performers walked around the route on stilts, as did a spectacular “Snow Queen” and two black devils. The local fancy dress-hire shop Masquaryde had a brilliant take on the jungle with warriors in African style costumes and stilt walkers. Not only the young took part, the Murphy Sisters dressed up as two badly behaved Nuns, who played some very funny tunes as they drove around on their scooters.

Previous Queen’s and their attendants joined members of the Ryde Carnival Association on an open top bus  to enjoy watching the parade from a different angle. Another open top bus joined the parade named “The Magic Bus” with dancers in fancy dress costume partying away. We also had an excellent tribute to the Shadows, namely the “5 O’Clock Shadows” who played Shadow’s music around the route. Ventnor’s Comic Jazz Band turned up and as usual entertained us with their eccentric behaviour, with one member turning up in a wheel chair having broken his leg.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in the procession, the excellent stewards who made the carnival run so smoothly and of course the public for watching.  We would love to hear any comments that you have about the carnival celebrations this year.

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