Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras

Isle of Wight Mardi Gras 2023 - Year of the Coast

The ‘Year of the Coast’ 2023 celebrated the upcoming creation of a coastal footpath around the entirety of the England and the Isle of Wight – set to be the longest way marked section of coastal footpath in the world- at 2800 miles!

Once again, we kicked off the National Children’s Carnival week, 8th to 16th July, themed this year as ‘coast to coast’.
New Carnival partnered with the UK Centre for Carnival Arts, St Pauls Carnival, Nottingham, 18 hours, Hastings, EMCCAN, and Global Grooves. Children up and down the country explored all things coastal!

To view the full event programme click here

 

 

What to expect

The Isle of Wight Mardi Gras, is the company’s flagship event and showcases the very best of children and young people’s carnival experience through learning, creating and performance. We work closely with schools and colleges in the development of the event and the processes which contribute to it.

The Mardi Gras parade has an overarching theme which is developed through a pictorial narrative and portrayed on the streets through carnival. The theme is chosen to fit comfortably within the national curriculum and topical areas of study, often in line with National celebrations or anniversaries.

The process and how to get involved

At the beginning of every year New Carnival hosts a launch event which announces the thematic, provides schools and community groups with information about registration, section selection and the resources available to support the process from costume design to performance on the road.

This year’s theme is Our World, our Future. The narrative / storyboard has been devised by young people and inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and our special status as a UNESCO Isle of Wight Biosphere Reserve.

For detailed information about the topics for representation and the support you can expect from the NCC in running your schools or community carnival club, please contact us directly. We have a Teachers Pack, plenty of workshops, and classes you can take part in, live or online, plus one to one support for designing and prototyping your costume.

CLICK HERE to access information and resources for this event