Triumphant Return for Full Throttle Hanwell Carnival
'Into the Future' theme for event that started in the 19th century
A futuristic display at the parade. Picture: Paul James
Well, what a day. Carnival was back in Hanwell.
A bright and sunny day too (well, at the start). Yes there was a modest offering in 2021, but Covid had kyboshed 2020.
And what kicked off this great event founded in 1898 (yes it’s been going since then) ? The triumphant return of the parade!
Masterminded and designed by artist Andera Jones, the theme this year was “Into The Future”. Pavements from Hanwell Community Centre, along Uxbridge and Boston roads right down to Elthorne Park were crowded with excited onlookers cheering on the tremendous efforts which had clearly been put into costumes and floats.
In the park were a huge selection of charity and trade stalls eagerly awaiting the crowds. The carnival is, for many charities, their main opportunity to raise funds and raise public awareness of their work.
The Hanwell Ukulele Group provided musical entertainment. Picture: Paul James
Loads of Ealing Hanwell based artists were in the popular Craft Tent. Many were familiar names from local markets like the Fox and In Cahoots at the Forester. I bumped into Toyah Hemmings with whom I’ve worked before at an arts centre in Hammersmith. Under the umbrella ‘design-it-yourself’ workshop, where people could design their own tie-dye T shirts #designityourself.
Toyah Hemmings
Entertainment? Last time there were 3 stages; Music, Community and an Acoustic tent. Slimmed down this year (possibly for cost reasons) but there was still a Music Stage and Hanwell’s Community radio station, Westside (which I always felt tended to be marginalized in the past) was given the circular bandstand to host Community Entertainment.
Ealing’s mayor, Mohinder Midha officially led a count down from the crowd publicly signalling “kick off”.
The tin foil hat brigade was in attendance. Picture: Paul James
The former MP for Ealing North, Steve Pound, a massive fan and supporter of carnival took part in the parade then was buzzing around in the park. I chatted to Ealing Southall MP Virendra Sharma as well as people from the council.
The Music Stage kicked off with a stunning set from Kyroe Carrington-McKenzie a Hanwell bloke who gave a stunning, powerful hip hop set.
On the Community Stage Westside presented Irish Dancing from Ceim Oir, Ealing Street Dance Academy (which is now in its 11th year with 10 teachers and 300 keen dancers) who are very popular regulars at Carnival.
Irish dancing formed part of the day's entertainment
Angela Carrington Fitness got the crowd going with a Zumba session and a gorgeous singer called Pritt was the last live performance there, handing over to DJs ….
At the very bottom end of the park were the ever-popular dog show and animal zone.
Of course, there was loads of food including burgers, hot dogs, Caribbean, Polish cakes and ice cream with a bar to keep the grown-ups lubricated.
There was amazing enthusiasm on the day as there has v been since on social media,
Get your diaries out, I reckon we all have a date on Sat June 17th 2023!
If you want to help, or have ideas – get in touch with the team on Facebook or Insta both #hanwell carnival.
Viv Ellis
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June 22, 2022