June 26th - 28th

The theme of last year’s Carnival was Transport – trains, boats, planes and automobiles – hence ‘Riccall on the Move’ and boy was Riccall moved! The weekend was a fantastic success, revving up on Friday night at the Regen Centre with Last Night of the Proms, where the Barlby Foot-Tappers and South Milford Brass raised the roof.

Saturday afternoon, again at the Regen Centre, saw a fabulous collection of vehicles – cars, motorbikes, fire engine etc with the main stars being 2 vintage buses used in Heartbeat, one of which took passengers on a tour of the villages and a Hopper which went to the Old Station House, in Station Road, where local Actor/Storyteller, Chris Cade, entertained visitors with memories of Riccall Station (thanks again to Mark and Claire for the use of their garden). There was a wide selection of stalls, run by village organisations including Tombola, wood turning, games, rides, BBQ, pig racing, an all-day football tournament and entertainment from WYSIWYG. There was a ‘decorate your bike’ competition and an ‘unrideable’ bike, which certainly proved unrideable! The order of the day was fun, fun, fun and FUN was had by all!

Sunday was a relaxing day; an outdoor Church service on the Millennium Green was followed by family picnics on the Village Green with entertainment from Billy Bills, the Crazy Fun Bus and Uncle Noel. Tremendous displays of transport memorabilia and photographs were exhibited all weekend in St Mary’s and the Methodist Church respectively.The Scarecrow competition attracted 14 entries this year, which was more than the last couple of years.

Both The Greyhound and Hare and Hounds pubs got into the Carnival spirit with children’s fairground rides, a bouncy castle and bucking bronco! Even the weather joined in the celebrations this year and was fabulous!

The Carnival was set up to bring the community together for a weekend of fun and varied activities, and as such is achieving its aim. The Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone, without whose help, input, sponsorship and attendance Riccall Carnival Weekend would not have been such a huge success. Money raised over the weekend fund the individual organisations and this year’s Carnival. Please put 2010 dates in your diaries, 25-27 June.

The Carnival is organised and run entirely by volunteers, but more are always needed.  All skills are needed, from financial expertise to making the tea for the work parties. Putting up bunting requires a certain amount of skill up a ladder, but someone has to untangle it and pass it up!  If we work together as a community we can make next year's Carnival even better than before and subsequently raise more cash to fund further events in Riccall.

You do not have to be a resident of Riccall to offer your help.  During the Carnival weekend we are always looking for help at the many events and stalls we provide, whether it be impartial judges or just help in supervising youngsters.  If you want to be more involved, please contact us. We would particularly like to have some new faces on the Carnival Committee. We meet on the first Tuesday evening of every month at the Methodist church at 7:30. So, please come along and offer your services.

We love the Carnival in Riccall and as far as we are concerned, the more people who join in the better, so please do get involved.