Harwich Children's Carnival
Carnival has always been of great importance to the community of Harwich and it culminates each year with the popular Guy Carnival. The 150-year-old tradition sees organised mocking, known as guying, during which residents satirise local issues.
In 2007 Creative Partnerships schools were invited to take part in the event, which was a huge success and greatly enjoyed by all involved. As a result Creative Partnerships together with the Grand Theatre of Lemmings decided to sponsor a separate Children’s Carnival of Harwich, which took place on 4th July 2008.
Over seven hundred children from seven Creative Partnerships schools danced their way through the streets of Harwich with brilliant costumes, vibrant face paints and colourful banners. The scale and spectacle of the Carnival was fantastic. The children rose to the challenge and the array of costume and prop was beautiful and much greater in scale and ambition than the previous year.
Before the Carnival
In February and March 2008 seven local artists from the Haven Gateway including a printmaker, silversmith, puppet maker and enamellist were given the opportunity to learn carnival-making skills with Mandinga Arts, an award winning carnival arts company set up by Charles Beauchamp and Julieta Rubio. The workshops enabled the practitioners to learn new carnival skills that they could then go on to develop in the classroom. As a result of the Mandinga workshops there is now a local team of trained carnival practitioners who will be able to sustain the Carnival in our schools. .
Carnival Curriculum
In April and May, following on from the workshops, various twilight sessions for teachers and TAs took place with the aim of developing the confidence and ability of the teachers to deliver the curriculum more creatively through carnival arts. Costume and banner making, face painting and dance were all introduced to the teachers and the session also served as an opportunity for the artists to get to know the teachers.
The theme of the Carnival was ‘The Future’, which provided both the teachers and practitioners with the opportunity to integrate the Carnival into the curriculum subjects. The children wrote stories, developed characters, designed and made their own costumes and developed new skills. They were involved in imaginative activities, problem solving and working together, as well as having fun.
Engaging the Community
Organisers from the Guy Carnival were invited to judge on the day of the Carnival. The three winning schools were awarded wooden automata, each made by a local artist. In addition every school was awarded a commemorative plate painted by their own carnival artist.
The relationships made with both the Harwich community and the Guy Carnival organisers will hopefully embed the Children’s Carnival into the town, enabling it to continue to grow and evolve.
