Ryde Arts Festival & Parade

The largest mixed arts event to take place on the Isle of Wight propelled itself through the streets of Ryde on Saturday July 5th. The annual Arts Parade took the Victorian town by storm with all the excitement and panache of a flamboyant Mardi gras carnival display.

Over 1000 performers drawn mainly from Island schools and community groups demonstrated their creative carnival masterpieces in a spectacular procession through the very centre of town. Adhering to this year's theme of 'Weird Science' the costumes were even more inventive and revolutionary than ever before and provided a fascinating insight into the incredible pool of creativity located right here on the Isle of Wight.

The parade was brought to a sensational conclusion by visiting 'Junkanoo live' artists and dancers from the Bahamas, who roused the crowds whilst performing in their first-ever European procession… An Island premier!

Junkanoo jubilation

Thirty Junkanoo practitioners and stakeholders, musicians and dancers from the former British colony travelled to the Island in back in April to undertake a residency programme at the newly opened Carnival Learning Centre in Ryde. As the centre's flagship event, the Arts Parade offered the ideal platform for the two groups to showcase the elaborate upshot of their fruitful collaboration and the very best carnival arts on the Island.

Junkanoo is a colourful expression of Bahamian culture and includes street celebrations, rhythmic music, dance, elaborate costumes and masks. Traditionally held in the Bahamas on Boxing Day, elaborately garbed groups stream past the judges, all night long, competing for prestige and prizes.

His Excellency Mr Paul Farquharson, High Commissioner for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas arrived at Dover Park Primary School to meet the participating Island carnival groups prior to the start of the parade. He later joined in with the Junkanoo in a tradition called 'rushing' whilst his wife, Sharon Farquharson and the council Chairman watched the festivities from Union Street.

The exuberant, dancing Junkanoo march continued on Eastern Gardens to a packed audience once a short prize giving session had taken place. Council Chairman Arthur Taylor presented all of the entrants with certificates and then joined in himself with the Junkanoo by playing the cowbells.

A flurry of festival activities

The parade, which was led by Raw Samba, left Dover Park primary school at 1:15pm continuing up Star Street, turning right just past the cinema to follow on down through the High Street, Union Street and along the Esplanade arriving at Eastern Gardens at 3pm. This is the only carnival on the Island to feature an all-pedestrian choreographed procession and the costumes and performances, once created, are used to enhance the main summer carnivals around the Island.

This joyous, vibrant and lively event marked the start of an eight-day program of fun-filled activities in the form of Ryde Arts Festival. The festival, which is co-ordinated by Ryde Art Works, encourages groups of promoters, performers, poets, photographers, musicians, artists, schools, community groups and art experts to join together in producing an extraordinary blend of creative skills and knowledge.

Theatre productions, art exhibitions, library and poetry readings plus various musical performances took place at various locations throughout the town leading up until the conclusion of the event on July 12th. A beach soccer tour also took place on Ryde's fantastic sands, during which top teams from across the UK competed against one another for the title of English Champions.

Entertainment and enlightenment

As if all of this wasn't enough, the Arts Festival parade and activities were carefully organised to coincide with Ryde Regatta, which took place on Ryde seafront over the weekend of 4, 5 & 6 of July. The regatta itself is an annual three-day fun-packed programme of family entertainment, local bands and DJ sessions. The line-up of superb Island musicians to play on the tent on Eastern Gardens included Wild Oats, Cozy Flashbak, The Arrivals, The Apple Beatles and The Chancers. A fantastic firework display on Ryde seafront rounded-off a superb day of entertainment on the Saturday evening.

If you wish to discover more about the Island's new Carnival Learning Centre which opened its doors in April, the centre has its own special website developed by the Isle of Wight Council. The website can be found at www.thecarnivallearningcentre.org and includes information about courses, workshops, events and exhibitions on offer at the centre. This unique facility provides a range of carnival-themed activities and it is hoped it will become a beacon of excellence for teaching carnival skills in the UK.

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