West Country Carnival - Carnival Clubs

Carnival Clubs

Carts or floats are built by local clubs, which as local charities themselves are aimed specifically and solely at raising funds for other charities which operate within their locality. Clubs generate all funds required to build and operate their carts totally by charitable donations from individuals and sponsorship from local businesses - all funds raised during the carnival season are wholly distributed by the club charity. Some carts cost in excess of £20,000 to build and are the result of thousands of man-hours work throughout the year. Most clubs are based around local working or social circles, such as pubs and clubs. Many clubs have specialist Juvenile Carnival clubs for the under 16s. To join an adult 16 and over club, an initiation ceremony is often involved. All work is carried out in the spare time of the club members on a voluntary basis – often working all night in the final few days to get carts ready.

Read more about this topic:  West Country Carnival

Famous quotes containing the words carnival and/or clubs:

    Looks like some carnival lost a good act.
    James Gleason (1886–1959)

    Neighboring farmers and visitors at White Sulphur drove out occasionally to watch ‘those funny Scotchmen’ with amused superiority; when one member imported clubs from Scotland, they were held for three weeks by customs officials who could not believe that any game could be played with ‘such elongated blackjacks or implements of murder.’
    —For the State of West Virginia, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)