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Waterloo turns into Oz for Carnival day |
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Friday 11th July saw the fifth Waterloo Carnival – more colourful and spectacular than ever!
The Wizard of Oz themed Carnival featured the renowned street procession with over 250 participants from local schools, seniors groups and other members of the community, plus a variety of musicians. Many nearby office workers and local residents took to the streets to support and enjoy the festivities.
Lower Marsh enjoyed a road closure for the day, making space for a special market with a variety of food & drink and gift stalls pitched alongside the usual traders. This also allowed some of the businesses along the street the opportunity to bring their business outside for the day. Cubana, at the eastern end of Lower Marsh, enticed many people to the street to with their Cuban band La Cuba Ritmo, while ‘mini museums’ entertained passers by, provided by the Florence Nightingale Museum, Museum of Garden History, Imperial War Museum and Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
In the evening, the western end of the street became the Emerald City with an outdoor stage and other specially created themed sets. The cabaret stage, hosted by Timberlina the Emerald Queen, featured a range of live music acts and entertainment which, despite the rain, drew in the crowds. Once the performances were over, the audience filtered into the nearby venues, The Walrus, Scooterworks and Camel & Artichoke, to continue the evening.
We were delighted to hear that many businesses in the area benefited from increased custom on the day and to hear such positive feedback from those who attended on the day.
We would like to thank all the businesses who got involved with the Carnival, from sponsoring the event through hosting window displays. We look forward to spreading the involvement and benefits of the day even further at Waterloo Carnival 2009.
Waterloo Carnival is produced by WAEN in partnership with Waterloo Quarter BID and the Friends of Waterloo Carnival. To see pictures from the day, visit our website at www.waterlooquarter.org. |
