A Burnham-On-Sea carnival dancer has spoken of her ‘great honour’ in taking part in The Queen’s Jubilee Pageant in London on Sunday.
Kelly Rowe was among the dancers performing in front of Somerset’s impressive carnival cart, called Jubilation.
The entry wowed the crowds watching the event – including several members of the Royal family.
Kelly told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “I had the great honour to dance on the streets of London to celebrate The Queen’s 70 years of dedication and service to our country.”
“It all started with us being asked if as a carnival club whether we would like to perform in the pageant.”
“As a club, at Griffens, several of us felt this would be an amazing opportunity and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
“When the cart arrived at our carnival shed to be built, looking at a blank canvas and drawing, we tried to picture what it would look like.”
“After endless hours of commitment from carnival clubs around the area, we were able to pull together and meet new people and build friendships and work together to make this an amazing event.”
“We all put in the hours to do any jobs that needed to be done. There was lots of work behind the scenes, from costume fitting and making to dance rehearsals.”
“The atmosphere in London made all the hard work over the last few months worthwhile. The nerves started kicking in as soon as I arrived in London.”
“Knowing it was going to be a massive event and so many people travelling to London to see, I did not want to disappoint them.”
“Spending time with the people I have got to know over the few months in London made me realize we all had the same feelings. We got up nice and early on Sunday to do hair, make up and prepare ourselves for the long day ahead.”
“We made our way to Horse Guards Parade, where the cart had been parked up for the weekend, to get into costumes. The wait to get started was slow coming but as soon as we hit the road that was it — the emotions, nerves and overwhelming feelings all kicked in..”
“The crowds were amazing and cheered us on along the way. After so many years of not being able to do carnival due to the pandemic it was the best feeling ever to be able to start again and wow people.”
“The many hours of preparation, stress, worry about the cart being ready, the emotions, nerves and many more things were definitely worthwhile to make Somerset proud.”
“It was totally worthwhile and I would not change anything about the experience. Roll on November when the pageant cart will appear in the local carnivals!”
Spectators at this autumn’s Burnham-On-Sea Carnival on November 7th and the other six Somerset Guy Fawkes Carnivals in Bridgwater, Weston, North Petherton, Shepton Mallet, Wells and Glastonbury will also get to see the cart in its full glory.
