Poor turn-out for carnival parade (From Barry And District News)

Poor turn-out for carnival parade

BARRY'S struggling carnival celebrations hardly caused a ripple across the town last week as locals gave it a big thumbs down.

Despite the fantastic effort of those who actually visited the attractions and entered Saturday's parade, the whole event was deemed a failure.

Many locals blame the organisation for the poor response, especially to Saturday's once-popular parade through town.

A Barry mum-of-two told the News: "I took my six-year-old to watch the parade in Broad Street. We sat down to have a drink outside Macgowans Bar and got ready to admire the floats.

'But because the roads weren't closed, a bus pulled up right in front of us and blocked our view. There were so few floats taking part that by the time we moved, it was all over."

Among the week's highlights were a teddy bears' picnic, which attracted about 150 children, and an evening dog show in Romilly Park. A local football tournament was later cancelled.

Talk of the Town, in Broad Street saw a poor turn-out for the 'battle of the bands' competition.

Saturday's parade has always been the climax to a week of fun. But this year it seemed many people could not make the effort even to watch. It does not seem to appeal to the young people of the town any more either.

Teenager Luke Nicholas, 15, of Crossfield Road, said: "I knew the carnival was going on last weekend, but I had better things to do with my time."

The carnival was once the main event of the Barry calender. Over the years, especially during Don Walmsley's reign, the committee raised thousands of pounds for charity.

But in later years, the event declined leaving many locals wondering whether it should continue into its thirtieth year next July.

All prizes from Barry Carnival will be awarded at a special night at the Masonic Hall on Friday, September 6, at 7pm.

See pages 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31 for more carnival pictures.