Countdown to Carnival - seven days to go (From Bridgwater Mercury)

Countdown to Carnival - seven days to go

8:00am Saturday 3rd November 2007 in

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BRIDGWATER Carnival has become one of the biggest and best-attended events in the South West calendar, renowned for its spectacular sights and sounds, and electric atmosphere.

But one other area where Carnival stands alone these days, is that it remains free - there is no charge to watch this incredible three-hours show.

However, that doesn't mean you should keep your hands in your pockets. Instead, organisers are asking visitors to dig deep and make even a small contribution to what they hope will be another record-breaking charity collection.

In 2006, a new best figure of £30,701 was recorded, a princely sum that was split between Carnival itself and around a dozen South West charities.

But as impressive as that amount is, it represents only a small donation per spectator - and the event's collections officer Mark Robson says he is hoping to improve on that this time around.

He told the Mercury: "Last year's collection saw 521386 coins counted up on a lovely dry night. That is just over 20p per person. If everyone had given 50p, we would have collected £75,000.

"Please give generously to the collectors, and let's all help make Bridgwater Carnival a record-breaking collection again. This truly will show the world what our Carnival means to the town."

So remember to dig deep while you're enjoying Friday's show - but also make sure you only hand over cash to the official collections, identifiable by their bright yellow collecting tins.

* These are the good causes set to benefit from this year's charity collection: Bridgwater Rotary Club, Bridgwater British Red Cross, Bridgwater Lions International, Special Needs in Activity Project, BIBIC, Children's Hospice South West, Freewheelers EVS, Somerset Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Ron Peberdy Cyberknife Trust, Exmoor Search and Rescue, Break 4 Kids (YHA), Enterprise Keeping In Touch, Somerset Sapphire Majorettes, Sedgemoor CAB, St Margaret's Somerset Hospice, Sedgemoor Transport, Cancer Research UK, Up and Downs Southwest and Puriton Horse Rescue.