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Special Arrangements for Disabled Visitors
The Leicester Caribbean Carnival has included in its Management Plan for this year's carnival three specific areas to facilitate disabled persons attending the event.

Because there are limited parking spaces on or near Victoria Park and the Policy of No Movement of Vehicles on or Off the Park Between 10am and 8pm on Carnival day we have allocated parking spaces at De Montfort Hall for a limited number of vehicles for disabled persons attending the event.

Entry to this area is via the main gate at De Montfort Hall on Granville Road. Disabled parking spaces will be issued on a first come first served basis only. Please note only blue badge holders can park in this area.

In addition a viewing platform will be located on Charles Street near New Look and the corner of Humberstone Gate. This area will be secured for disabled persons only.

For those who prefer to wait for the parade to return to Victoria Park, a viewing area will be set up in the Main Arena for them to see the troupes as they parade on stage. This space is for disabled persons only and if required one carer. There are limited spaces available in these two areas so interested parties need to arrange to get there ahead of time.
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Street Carnival Route 2009
The route for the street Carnival has reverted back to what it was in 2008. It will leave Victoria Park at 1pm immediately following the official opening of the Caribbean Carnival. The route is Granville Road, London Road, Saxby Street, Sparkenhoe Street, Swain Street, Charles Street, Humberstone Gate, Gallowtree Gate, Granby Street, London Road, Granville Road and back to Victoria Park.

There will be large costumes throughout the street carnival and in the interest of health and safety it is advisable that members of the public remain on the sidewalk, especially parents with small children and buggies.

Persons wishing to sell flags etc on the streets are advised that a license will be required and can be obtained from the Licensing Department at the Leicester City Council.

Please note only the Leicester Caribbean Carnival Ltd is licensed to do a street collection on Carnival Day. The collectors will be easily identified as they will be wearing high visibility jackets with the Leicester Caribbean Carnival Ltd logo on the back.

A viewing area for disabled persons will be located en route at Charles Street near New Look. Spaces will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
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Carnival Is Definitely On
"Tropical Colours" is the theme chosen to mark twenty-four years of Caribbean Carnival in Leicester. Plans are well underway for the staging of the event, which comes one day after the official closing of the Special Olympics here in Leicester.

Carnival Day this year falls on August 1st, Emancipation Day, which is of special significance to the Leicester Caribbean Carnival. The event, since its inception, is celebrated each year on the first Saturday of August to coincide with the Emancipation of Slavery.

At least eight local costumed bands are at present preparing for the event and will begin building their costumes in earnest from the first week in May. The route for the colourful Street Carnival through the City Centre has already been set.

According to the Carnival Chairperson, Dennis Sugar Christopher, Carnival is definitely on but some cut backs will be necessary, as the financial crisis has made it even more difficult to secure funding to meet the high cost of staging the event.

Efforts he said, are still being made to find the additional funds and plans are in the advanced stages for collections on the street and at Victoria Park on Carnival Day to help offset the costs.
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Leicester Caribbean Carnival Ltd awarded Grant for Carnival Arts
The Leicester Caribbean Carnival Ltd has been awarded a grant of just under forty two thousand pounds to conduct a series of workshops as part of its 2009 - 2010 Carnival Arts Programme.

The funding from the Arts Council Grants for the Arts Programme will be used to train residents of all ages from Leicester and Leicestershire in Calypso & Soca Music, Caribbean Dance, Carnival Costume Design and Construction as well as African Drumming and Dance.

Tutors for the workshop will be drawn from Leeds, London, Leicester and Northamptonshire who will transfer skills to local residents as part of a programme to improve the carnival product for the Leicester Caribbean Carnival.

Carnival Coordinator, Juliette Brade, says it is important that the Leicester Caribbean Carnival provide training in Carnival arts to assist Leicester based Artists involved in carnival to find employment in the creative industry and to have their work displayed throughout the year rather than once a year at carnival time.
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Costume Workshops to be conducted in Leicester
A series of carnival costume workshops will take place at the African Caribbean Centre from May 8th, 2009. The programme is being funded by the Arts Council Grants for the Arts Programme with in kind support form the African Caribbean Centre and volunteers.

Experienced designers and builders from Mas Art and Mahogany Arts from London will conduct the workshops which are open to residents of Leicester and Leicestershire and in particular groups and individuals wishing to learn the art of producing costumes for the annual Caribbean Carnival.

Costumes from two of the groups registered for the workshops will form part of the opening ceremony for the Special Olympics at Walkers Stadium on July 25th. All costumes built in the workshop will be on display on Carnival Day.

Arrangements have been made for children with special needs from Ash field School to be included in this years programme. They will be making costumes for their Open Day scheduled for June 26th at their school at Gwendolyn Road.
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Calypso Booklet and Music CD to be released in June
The Leicester Caribbean Carnival Ltd will publish a booklet highlighting the work of Leicester's new breed of calypsonians in June.

The booklet will feature short write-ups on all of the participants from the Calypso Music Workshop conducted as part of the 2008 /2009 Carnival Arts Programme. It will also include lyrics for the calypsos produced by the group as well as a compilation CD featuring the calypsonians and back up singers. It will also focus on the traditional art form itself including a short history of Calypso music.

The production was made possible with funding from the Arts Council Grants for the Arts, which ended in February 2009.

Key to the success of the Calypso Music Project was a partnership developed with EK AWAAJ - One Voice Young Peoples Centre in Leicester, the Association of British Calypsonians in London and Dramatists and Creative writer, Myrle Roach.
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Last Modified: July 26 2009
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