The team of volunteers behind Thornbury Carnival suggested it might be a good idea for me to put pen to paper (or should that be ‘fingers to keyboard’?) to keep you up-to-date with what goes on behind the scenes to organise the event. To that end, a very warm welcome to what, I hope, will be the first of many regular blog posts!

The Thornbury Carnival Committee meets on a monthly basis to organise the event, and we had our March meeting a few weeks ago. This is where we’re at with organising the event so far:

• All of the acts are confirmed for both ‘Swing in the Park’ on the Friday evening and ‘The Main Event’ on Saturday.
• The main infrastructure, e.g. the stage, generators, toilets etc. is booked.
• Security and medical provision are also booked.
• The website has had a refresh to reflect the fact Thornbury Carnival is now a two-day event.
• We’ve created an online brochure providing information on our sponsorship and hospitality packages.
• We’ve started the ball rolling on recruiting local talent for our Saturday Variety Show.
• We’re now taking stallholder bookings.
• We’re also taking bookings for our Show ‘n’ Shine.
• We’ve started recruiting volunteers to support the event.

When I was being “persuaded” to write this blog, I laughingly said it should be called a ‘No Chairs Blog’ because one of the recent Committee debates has centred on the provision of tables and chairs in front of the main stage. If you happened to catch the recent news that the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is to be reduced from four days to three this year due to rising costs, you’ll perhaps understand the background to some of our dilemmas.

The events industry, like many others, has been subject to rising costs and inflation, and the Committee’s challenge is to balance providing an enjoyable and inclusive weekend for the local community with securing the long-term financial viability of the event. 2023 was successful on many levels, not least because it was the first time in several years the event returned a small financial surplus. In the last few years, we’ve had to draw on the contingency fund provided by Friends of Thornbury Carnival (an arms length organisation set up by local businesses to provide a reserve fund) to keep us going. As we do every year, we’ve reviewed our 2023 expenditure with the aim of keeping our costs as tight as possible while balancing the desire to ensure a positive experience for our attendees. We’re mindful that the ongoing cost of living crisis is placing family budgets under pressure, so we’ve made a couple of decisions we think will help, which brings me back to my ‘No Chairs Blog’ comment above…

One of the changes we’re implementing this year is that, in line with most other community events, we won’t be providing tables and chairs in front of the main stage. This has cost nearly £2,000 in previous years and although we know they’ve been appreciated by some attendees, we’ve noticed many people bring their own camping chairs and picnic blankets anyway. We believe people would prefer we didn’t provide tables and chairs but kept ticket prices down instead. So, to that end, we’re holding Friday ticket prices and Saturday ticket prices at the same level as 2023 and in addition, we’re also absorbing the online ticket booking fee, making tickets this year even better value!

I hope you enjoyed finding out our latest news but please don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date as the event approaches.

Best wishes

Liam

The team of volunteers behind Thornbury Carnival suggested it might be a good idea for me to put pen to paper (or should that be ‘fingers to keyboard’?) to keep you up-to-date with what goes on behind the scenes to organise the event. To that end, a very warm welcome to what, I hope, will be the first of many regular blog posts!

The Thornbury Carnival Committee meets on a monthly basis to organise the event, and we had our March meeting a few weeks ago. This is where we’re at with organising the event so far:

• All of the acts are confirmed for both ‘Swing in the Park’ on the Friday evening and ‘The Main Event’ on Saturday.
• The main infrastructure, e.g. the stage, generators, toilets etc. is booked.
• Security and medical provision are also booked.
• The website has had a refresh to reflect the fact Thornbury Carnival is now a two-day event.
• We’ve created an online brochure providing information on our sponsorship and hospitality packages.
• We’ve started the ball rolling on recruiting local talent for our Saturday Variety Show.
• We’re now taking stallholder bookings.
• We’re also taking bookings for our Show ‘n’ Shine.
• We’ve started recruiting volunteers to support the event.

When I was being “persuaded” to write this blog, I laughingly said it should be called a ‘No Chairs Blog’ because one of the recent Committee debates has centred on the provision of tables and chairs in front of the main stage. If you happened to catch the recent news that the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is to be reduced from four days to three this year due to rising costs, you’ll perhaps understand the background to some of our dilemmas.

The events industry, like many others, has been subject to rising costs and inflation, and the Committee’s challenge is to balance providing an enjoyable and inclusive weekend for the local community with securing the long-term financial viability of the event. 2023 was successful on many levels, not least because it was the first time in several years the event returned a small financial surplus. In the last few years, we’ve had to draw on the contingency fund provided by Friends of Thornbury Carnival (an arms length organisation set up by local businesses to provide a reserve fund) to keep us going. As we do every year, we’ve reviewed our 2023 expenditure with the aim of keeping our costs as tight as possible while balancing the desire to ensure a positive experience for our attendees. We’re mindful that the ongoing cost of living crisis is placing family budgets under pressure, so we’ve made a couple of decisions we think will help, which brings me back to my ‘No Chairs Blog’ comment above…

One of the changes we’re implementing this year is that, in line with most other community events, we won’t be providing tables and chairs in front of the main stage. This has cost nearly £2,000 in previous years and although we know they’ve been appreciated by some attendees, we’ve noticed many people bring their own camping chairs and picnic blankets anyway. We believe people would prefer we didn’t provide tables and chairs but kept ticket prices down instead. So, to that end, we’re holding Friday ticket prices and Saturday ticket prices at the same level as 2023 and in addition, we’re also absorbing the online ticket booking fee, making tickets this year even better value!

I hope you enjoyed finding out our latest news but please don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date as the event approaches.

Best wishes

Liam