Whitley Bay Carnival History
Whitley Bay Carnival 21st century history
Begun following a Big local community consultation, which showed the desire to see a revived carnival in Whitley Bay.
In 2014 a tiny carnival parade and afternoon of live music and street theatre on the Spanish City prom with an exhibition in the dome just before it closed for refurbishment. 2 schools and around 250 participants, parade led by a local school crossings lady.The parade took place on pedestrian roads and the prom with no road closure but over 2,000 audience in effect closed the sea front
From 2015 – 2018 the carnival had between £8,000 and £15,000 a year support from Whitley Bay Big Local allowing us to go for grants and local business sponsorship
2018 – 2021 Creative Civic Change programme included support for the annual carnival and by 2019 the event was well established as a 2 day event.
Lockdown carnival in 2020 went on line and into streets and gardens with Creative Civic change funding only and in 2021 a September parade only event took place as the second lock down ended.
2022 saw a one day event with a parade and street events with no infrastructure.
2023 NTCA scale up funds and match from Arts Council England project grants allowed for a two-day event with record attendance and engagement
Next May 25th and 26th, 2024, we hope to be inviting Whitley Bay to take a leap out of the ordinary for the 11th Whitley Bay Carnival
For the first time we are starting from scratch to raise the matched funds we need to be able to apply for grants at the level we need to make it all happen
Tyne Tees Entertainments, TJ’s American Pastimes, the Whitley Whaler, Scoops, Whitley Stay Di-Meo's, Miss Persnickety and Big Purple Box Creative have pledged support but we have a long way to go. You can help by donating whatever you can afford, every single £1 makes a difference - it doesn’t have to be much. You can also help by sharing the funding link in your networks.
Since 2015 local businesses have been the backbone of the carnival helping to reach the necessary match for grant applications. Some have dropped in and out but Di-meo’s, TJ’s American Pastimes, The Whitley Whaler and Big Purple Box have been with us from the start and we thank them for their support.
We hope new stalwarts Tyne Tees Entertainments, Fisherman’s Bay, Pure Knead, Scoops, The Round Table and Whitley Stay will stick with us for 2024 and we are hoping that Pantrinis, the Crab and Waltzer and The Venetian will come back! All of their support has been so important.
Whitley Bay Carnival
Whitley Bay Carnival brings local and international artists together with the community to showcase the best of our seaside town.
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