Caribbean Carnival Dazzles Derby
26 July 2010
People of all ages took part in the carnival fun
Curious George in the parade
The city of Derby was bursting with colour on Saturday 17 July as the annual Caribbean Carnival passed through the town.
The carnival, supported by the University of Derby, saw over 530 people take part in a procession from Pear Tree to the Market Place.
There were some fantastic and elaborate costumes in the parade, including a giant Avatar, as well as dancers and performers.
Curious George
Amongst the breathtaking costumes and floats was Derby's favourite aluminum man, Curious George - The Derby Champion.
For those who haven't had the pleasure of meeting Curious George, he is a 3-foot high puppet brought to life as part of the Imagination Our Nation project (ION), with support from the Mandela Arts Project and the Derby West Indian Centre Association.
The ION project is aimed at promoting and developing carnival arts across the UK with a view to providing spectacular displays at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Find out more about the ION project.
John Whall, of the University of Derby and Derby City Youth Service, helped bring Curious George to life and was one of the four puppeteers at the carnival. He said: "There are great things happening in cities like Birmingham and Leicester, and we wanted to create something similar for Derby.
"The aim is for the project to bring communities in Normanton together and form a solid base for the carnival arts, which we can then take into the Peaks to create a county wide programme.
"There are 18 other puppets across the UK and they all play an important role in engaging young people in the arts and will hopefully lead to some fantastic scenes in 2012."
What's in a name?
As for Curious George - The Derby Champion, he had a great time at the carnival, according to his Facebook page! And, if anyone is curious about his name, we can reveal that it came about from consulting a group of children.
"We asked some young people to name him and they came up with Curious George", said John. "He always gets a lot of attention. People often point at him, so he gets very curious and goes over to them, so the name is actually quite fitting".
Diverse
The Derby Caribbean Carnival was a great reflection of the cultural richness the city is blessed with, and the University of Derby is delighted to have been involved with such a fantastic event. Long may this valuable asset to the people and city of Derby continue!
For more information about this news article, contact Luke Foddy on 01332 591945 or email l.foddy@derby.ac.uk
Have a look at some of the brilliant scenes at the Derby Caribbean Carnival in our gallery:
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