Lutterworth Carnival cancelled
THE TRADITIONAL summer carnival in Lutterworth is to be cancelled this year for the first time in nearly 60 years.
The huge Lutterworth event, which sees a week of activities around town culminating in the Saturday parade, has fallen victim to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, which will take place just a few weeks beforehand.
The decision was announced at a Lutterworth Town Council meeting on Tuesday night.
Town mayor Tony Hirons said he had hosted a well-attended meeting in late January to invite town clubs, companies and organisations to share ideas about the Diamond Jubilee, which is in early June.
He added: “Within 48 hours of the meeting I had several phone calls from different organisations pledging support for the Jubilee but pointing out that they would not be able to commit to two major events within a month.
“I began to think ‘would it be sensible to cancel the carnival?’.”
Cllr Rob Coleman, who is chairman of the town events working party which organises the carnival, said he supported the decision.
He added: “This means we can concentrate all our efforts on the one event.
“My only stipulation to agreeing was that we don’t drop it forever – and that the carnival definitely returns in 2013.”
Cllr Eileen Derrick, who takes a particular interest in Lutterworth historical matters and who was the carnival queen in 1954, said after the meeting it was probably the first time the event has been cancelled since 1953 for the Queen’s coronation.
Cllr Derrick said the event has been held annually since 1952, except in 1953 when the Queen’s coronation took place.
She added: “There were events that year that would have taken place during Feast Week, but it wasn’t called Feast Week.”
The carnival’s slot in the calendar has also moved several times since the 1950s.
Just a few weeks ago it had been announced that the carnival date was to be switched from its traditional August slot to Saturday, July 7.
That decision was made because it would have clashed with the London Olympics and because the working party was attempting to move the event outside the summer holidays to get schools more involved.
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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