The 2022 Somerset County Guy Fawkes Carnivals were a massive success, there is no doubt about that.

Bumper crowds, incredible atmospheres, mesmerising entries, and increased and better than expected town collections, all proved that the appetite and popularity of our carnivals are as strong as ever.

After the 2022 carnival season had come to a magical end at Glastonbury Carnival on Saturday evening, the winners of the prestigious county carnival awards were announced, and there was some well-deserved success for our Bridgwater Carnival clubs.

Gremlins CC topped the feature county class with their entry Feast of Fools, followed by Ramblers CC who were joint runners up (with Masqueraders CC from Meare) with I Wanna Rock. Renegades CC took fourth place in the same class with Seize the Day (Strike!). Between them, the three clubs also picked up a whole host of other top county trophies.

Bridgwater-based Newmarket CC and Marina Sydenham JCC also topped their respective comic and juvenile county classes with Men in Tights and Outlaws and Outsiders, and Wills CC were 2nd overall in the county tableaux class with At the Museum.

Huckyduck CC from Coleford won the highly coveted overall county championship (The Starkey Cup) with their tableaux entry ‘When Movies Were Movies’, and other county winners included The Academy of Carnival, Rhythm Fever CC, Smandys CC, ABC CC, Andy Tizzard, Ethan Pickersgill and Harlequin CC.

I am sure you will join me in wishing a massive congratulations to those clubs, groups and individuals mentioned above who won a county award, and also to all of the other entrants who took part in the 2022 carnivals.

The standard of entries was incredibly high, and being a judge on the carnival circuit, I can speak at first-hand about how extremely tight it was in all classes. It was very fine margins, and all entries need to be recognised and thanked for the part they played in making this year’s carnivals so very special and competitive.

Now away from the county and back to this year’s Bridgwater Carnival, I am pleased to report our street collection was a fantastic £30,100. This is the third highest amount ever raised at our carnival, and is a testament to the generosity and appreciation of the watching public.

This money was made up of cash, text and online donations. Many years ago, the collection was seen as the main indicator as to the success of the carnival. Now it’s just one of many indicators we use to judge the success of our carnival, including souvenir sales, car park income, programme sales, corporate hospitality etc, to name just a few.

Also, we are very keen to hear feedback about our carnival so we can learn and make further improvements to the spectator experience in the future. To facilitate this, we have opened an online survey where people who attended Bridgwater Carnival 2022 can comment and give us feedback.

Every person who completes the survey, and who leaves a valid email address, will be entered into a prize draw, with the first five out of the hat winning a souvenir 2022 Bridgwater Carnival DVD. To take part in the survey, please visit www.bridgwatercarnival.org.uk. We would love to hear from you. The closing date is 30 November.

2022 will always be remembered as the year when we all fell back in love with the Somerset Carnivals again. Long may it continue.

Until the next time…