New faces raise hopes to keep Whaley Bridge carnival alive

Trustees of the Whaley Bridge Rose Queen Festival Association called a public meeting at the bowling club, on Buxton Road, on Tuesday, January 10, in the hope of finding a new generation of organisers to revive the carnival, which has not been held since 2019.

Those who attended agreed to form a new committee which will be guided in their new roles by John and his colleagues.

Chairman John Barnes, 79, said: “I was surprised how many people were there. It was really very positive. There will be a carnival this year and it will be on Saturday, June 24. As trustees, we’re absolutely delighted.

“The people who’ve come forward are very enthusiastic. They have their own ideas about how to do things but, as we are a registered charity, they will need the knowledge of current trustees to get them up the first few rungs of the ladder.”

The carnival is a tradition which has brought the community together at the canal basin for a day of family fun, live entertainment and food.

A key summer fixture of local life, it was interrupted by the pandemic and the significant death of Tony Mackey, who had been involved in organising the event for more than 40 years.

As festivities returned to towns and villages across the High Peak in 2022, the shortage of new, committed organisers in Whaley prompted fears for the carnival’s future.

John said: “I was talking to the other trustees on the way to the meeting about how all the offers we’d had were from people willing to help out on the day.

“We really needed people who wanted to be involved in an organising committee. Without that, we’d already taken the decision that we would have to shut down and dissolve the charity.”

He added: “There will be another meeting in a fortnight’s time with more to report, but things should start happening very quickly. Things like road closures and street collections need to be applied for very soon.”

For all the latest updates, see www.facebook.com/whaleycarnival.

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