What a day- Diss Carnival celebrated by thousands!
21 June 2024
Diss saddled up in their thousands on Sunday 16th June 2024 as crowds lined the streets to celebrate this year’s theme: ‘Wild West!’
A vibrant parade of floats and walking groups partied through Diss Town Centre after setting off from the high school. The creativity and hard work that went into decorating floats and costumes never fails to wow us! As always, the community spirit was incredible, with all generations coming together, celebrating Carnival and Father’s Day! The crowds cheered and waved, and the weather beamed down on us all day!
Mayor of Diss, councillor Kieran Murphy, Honoured Citizens Mike Garnham and Mary Cotton were very impressed by all the entries but finally settled on 3 award winners: Best Dressed Float to Merryfields Playschool, Best Walking Group to Tribe All and lastly, the Pete Gillings Cup for the Most Flamboyant Float went to the Garden Project Team. 1st Place for the Window Dressing competition went to Oxfam! Well done all!
The fun continued on the Park for a busy afternoon of free live entertainment, stalls, funfair rides and plenty of themed activities. Event compere, Paul Preston-Mills, was on hand to keep us informed. With main arena shows from Tribe- All fitness, a fun dog show hosted by Hannah’s Pet Services, Foolhardy Circus, Jeff Gallant Duo and a western stunt show! There was something for everyone. But that’s not all – the pavilion featured a variety of live performers too – The Hedge Monkeys, Sweet Treats Burlesque, Voice Squad, Hank JD Sleek, Jeff Gallant Duo and Jacen Bruce kept the crowds tapping their toes into the evening, along with tunes from Park Radio!
With around 60 stalls to browse too, including foodies, crafters, activity stalls, local businesses and charities, visitors expressed how enjoyable it was to have so much variety this year. Children loved taking part in the free activity tent hosted by the Baptist Church aswell as learning their own circus skills with the Foolhardy guys. Storybook Photobooths provided a vintage horsebox photobooth experience so visitors could dress up in themed props to capture memories of this year’s theme forever! Hundreds took on the challenge of riding the rodeo bull with many returning throughout the afternoon, determined not to be defeated! Larry Gray’s funfair entertained with their great variety of rides and stalls.
The Carnival Committee, who had been planning the event since October said, “What a brilliant day! The turnout exceeded our expectations, with an impressive number of people coming together to celebrate and enjoy the day. The vibrant atmosphere, fantastic performances, and free activities made it a fantastic day for all.
We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who attended and supported Diss Carnival 2024. Your enthusiasm and support are what makes this community event so special. We also want to thank the parade entrants, volunteers, performers, stallholders, window dressing entrants and our sponsors for your fantastic support!”
The Carnival Committee will kick-start planning for next year’s event in September – if you’d like to join them, please get in touch by emailing carnival@diss.gov.uk
Check out all photos from the event on our Carnival Facebook Page!
