Acton Carnival was streamed live on Facebook on Saturday (11 July), to audiences of more than 10,000, with even more visitors reliving the event via the link: www.facebook.com/actoncarnival
Because of the coronavirus emergency, Ealing Summer Festivals was cancelled – which Acton Carnival is traditionally part of.
Unprecedented times called for an innovative response which was to livestream the event on Facebook so residents who would normally have attended the carnival could still enjoy it, while others could showcase their talents; and all could come together in a time of isolation for many.
There has been a carnival in Acton since 1897 but, since 2002, local arts group Artification has led the carnival organisation.
Dr Rachel Pepper from Artification said: “We are proud to have presented an amazing and varied programme of costume, live music, DJing and dance.”
Councillor Mik Sabiers, who represents South Acton ward and normally walks alongside the procession, watched it online. He said: “Good to see the community spirit is as strong as ever.
“The carnival is a very diverse event that reflects our diverse borough. Lovely to see the 2020 carnival continue, walking down the virtual high street with you”.
The event was supported with music by Leathon Lacrette and the Tippa Audio family, with MCing by Specky for MCing. Mike McKenzie from DrumCam filmed and livestreamed it, and Natasha Thompson provided photography.
Artification wanted to thank the acts who performed, including:
- Elevate Arts youth dancers
- Reggie ‘Skipper’ Passe
- Drummers of Dance Carib
- Rena and R Consultancy, including Soca Saga Boys, Windrush19, Utopia Mas, Fantasea Desings and soca aerobics from Caribsafitnes
- Eddie Capone 3G Treatment
- Rhonda Baptiste for carnival history and presentation of the Stardust Mas & Pan family.
A spokeperson for Elevate said: “It was heart warming being able to social dis-dance and entertain virtually. The community spirit was there as always, even though we couldn’t physically come too close to each other.”
If you missed it, you can see the video and photos here: https://www.facebook.com/actoncarnival
