Whitley Bay Carnival Draws 20,000 Visitors on Bank Holiday
The annual seaside parade in Whitley Bay attracted twice the usual attendance on the hottest day of the year so far. Organizers secured Arts Council funding five weeks before the event after earlier grant applications failed.
bbc.co.ukAbout 20,000 people lined the streets of Whitley Bay for the Bank Holiday carnival parade. Attendance doubled from the previous year despite organizers securing funding only five weeks earlier. The one-day event featured a Folk theme with a giant Green Man float, performances by 14 schools, and work from six community groups.
Temperatures in the North East reached the upper 20s Celsius, the highest recorded so far this year.
Festival co-founder Carol Alevroyianni of Salto Arts said the event was the best one ever. She noted that multiple grant applications had been unsuccessful and that the Arts Council offer required matching funds the organizers could not provide until recently.
Crowdfunding and local business support allowed the festival to proceed, though on a reduced schedule. Alevroyianni stated that arts groups now face greater competition for limited public funds.
“I genuinely thought it wouldn't happen, and I thought this year's festival might be the last. uk) Organizers began fundraising for next year's event on the same day.”
