Could you be queen for a day at Barnstaple Carnival 2025?

Would you like to be a carnival queen and take centre stage for a day or become part of Barnstaple Carnival 2025?

Applications are now open for carnival royalty, stall holders and volunteers to get involved with one of Barnstaple’s biggest annual events, which was revived last year due to popular demand.

This year’s carnival is on Saturday, September 20 and entries are now being invited to apply to become carnival royalty, with a queen and an extensive entourage needed!

Business, charity’s and community groups who would like a stall on Castle Green or around the Strand area are also being urged to get in touch.

It will all begin at Castle Green with family friendly stalls and entertainment for all ages, while a bustling ‘carnival village’ will be in full flow on the Strand.

The afternoon will see entertainment on the Square, building up to the crowning of the carnival queen and then of course the main carnival procession, followed as dark begins to fall by the traditional firework display.

Barnstaple Carnival project manager Kev Behan said: “The team are excited at applications going live this week as we want BC25 to build on the  success of last year’s event!’

“Parade entries will be open shortly so we urge prospective participants to keep an eye on the local press and social media for details.”

Planning for this year is well underway but organisers would like to hear from anyone who could volunteer their time to help with a variety of roles, particularly fundraising, social media management and general communications, as well as stewards and general volunteers on the day itself.

Kev added: “The bulk of the responsibility for last year’s event was undertaken by a very small team, so this year we would like to expand that.

“There are several roles we would like support with and so if anyone is interested in helping out, it would be great to hear from you.

“Last year’s carnival brought thousands of people into the town, and we want to make sure we can achieve the same again.”

Anyone who would like to help or find out more is asked to email info@barnstaplecarnival.org.uk and someone will get back to them.

Applications to become carnival royalty or request a stall pitch will be live very shortly at https://www.barnstaplecarnival.org.uk

This year the carnival will once again be supported by Flourishing Barnstaple, a North Devon Council initiative funded by the cultural development fund and administered by Arts Council England.