Organisers call on town to make Dorchester Carnival the 'best ever'

The county town is set to enjoy a weekend of carnival celebrations with the fun centred around Brewery Square.

It marks a new beginning for the event after the Round Table stepped down from its organising role following 40 years of overseeing it.

The torch has been taken up by carnival chairman John Palmer and his dedicated committee and they are looking to breathe new life into the event.

Mr Palmer said: “We really need people to get behind us because it’s our first year as the Dorchester Carnival committee rather than the round table and people are going to be looking to pick faults.

“Carnival has slacked off a bit in the last few years and we want this year to be the start of it becoming great again.”

The fun will get underway on Friday with an Italian market in Brewery Square during the day and the traditional four-legged pub crawl in the evening.

The pub crawl, which is still being organised by the Dorchester Round Table, will start and finish at the Borough Gardens – where there will be musical entertainment.

Another old favourite returning will be Wynn’s fun fair who will be welcoming local youngsters with special needs onto the rides free of charge before opening up to the wider public.

Mr Palmer was full of praise for the generous gesture made by Wynns every year.

He said: “They do it every year out of the kindness of their hearts.”

There will be more fun on Saturday with stalls in Brewery Square throughout the day and a bumper musical line-up organised by local music production company Mmm... Nice Music.

The main procession promises to be the highlight of an action packed weekend, with floats setting off on a new route at 6pm.

There will be a movie theme to the floats this year and they will set off from the Fairfield car park.

The route will take them through Brewery Square, along Weymouth Avenue and up Trinity Street before heading along Princes Street, down Cornwall Road and back to the car park.

After the parade there will be more fun and music in Brewery Square until 10pm.

Mr Palmer stressed that one of the main focuses of the day was to raise money for the many and varies local charities and organisations that take part in the parade.

He said: “Every penny that’s collected on the parade route is divided up between the charities and groups that enter.

“Everything goes into generating money for the community.”

Brewery Square centre manager Ben Abbiw said that the development was excited to host much of the carnival action and backed Mr Palmer’s calls for the community to get behind the event.

He said: “We want people to come and support us – it’s for charity.

“We have promoted it as much as we can and we just want as many people along the route as possible.”

Mr Palmer has sent a special plea out for local people to support the carnival by acting as marshalls for the procession route.

He said they are short of numbers and urged anyone who was interested in getting involved to get in touch.

Anyone who can offer their support to help make the community event a success is asked to email johnapalmer2msn.com

FRIDAY JUNE 13 

•  Italian Market setting up in Brewery Square from 9am
• Wynns Fun Fair setting up in the market car park with free rides for youngsters from Westfield Technology College, Mountjoy School and the Dorchester Opportunity Group from 11am to noon before the rides are opened to the public.
• Four-legged pub crawl in the evening finishing at the Borough Gardens, where there will be live music with the Party in the Park. Registration for the pub crawl is from 7pm at the Borough Gardens with the race starting at 7pm.

SATURDAY, JUNE 14  

• Stalls and a street fair setting up in Brewery Square from 9am with live music in the square from 10am.
• The main carnival procession sets off from Fairfield car park at 6pm.
• After the procession there will be lived music in Brewery Square until 10pm.

For details of any events and how to get involved email johnapalmer2msn.com