Isle of Wight Carnival, UK

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What is the Isle of Wight Carnival?

The Mardi Gras or Isle of Wight Carnival is a celebration that takes place in Ryde every last Saturday in June. This is an iconic event and showcases the best of the carnival experience of children and young people, who work in collaboration with schools and organizations for the development of the event. Around 30 schools and community organizations work for months to plan the festivities, in which samba bands and other international groups related to arts and carnival also participate.

Every year a different theme is celebrated, some of these have been of great importance to the island, including the social, ecological and historical development of the island. During the carnivals around 1,0000 people take to the streets of Ryde for the spectacular Mardi Gras.

The highlight of the event is of course, the main parade. The event takes to the streets, which are dressed in multiple colors to celebrate with samba, music and dance.

 

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When is the Isle of Wight Carnival

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Ethe Isle of Wight Mardi Gras will take place on approximately June 26. The event will take place in the town of Ryde.

 

 

History of the Isle of Wight Carnivals

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The Isle of Witht’s Mardi Gras is inspired by Mardi Gras New Orleans, bringing some of the essential aspects of it to the island. The main concept of the carnivals is to incorporate the art and theater into the streets of Ryde, including the different local groups, schools and associations.

This concept has been put into practice the last few years, especially in the parade that takes over the city streets to transform them into a stage where people can display their extravagant and colorful costumes and dance to the rhythm of samba and Caribbean genres..

Each year the carnivals are celebrated with a theme that dominates the costume designs and the vast majority of those themes focus on the historical aspect of the island or its projection into the future. Some of the topics include the history of Carnival, the life of Shakespeare, the independence of India, among others. In addition, the purpose of the carnivals is to incentivize young people to learn more about the island, as well as to learn its traditions and all it has to offer.

 

Where is the Isle of Wight Carnival

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The Isle of Wight Mardi Gras is held in the city of Ryde, more specifically in Queens Road, the location where the parade starts.

 

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How the Isle of Wight Carnival is celebrated

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The carnival takes into consideration different aspects of the Mardi Gras celebration, some of them promoting the art and culture of the Isle of Wight. Every year a carnival theme is created, these themes form an important part of the history of the island, as well as part of the culture and projection into the future.

The main celebration revolves around the great parade of the city, in which people take the main streets and turn them into a big stage where they have the opportunity to dance and expose their big and colorful costumes. Likewise, different music bands participate to bring the rhythm to the participants, including different samba performances and of course, Caribbean music to give a special touch to the celebrations.

The parade counts with the presence with about30 local schools that participate in the runs, wearing their characteristic costumes and performing different choreographies.

 

Tips for going to the Isle of Wight Carnivals

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As always, we recommend you plan your trip in advance. It is also important that you make a travel itinerary and book the place where you want to stay.

If you want to know more about tourism in this country, I recommend this guide:

 

Events at Isle of Wight Carnival

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Before the big parade of Isle of Wight Mardi Gras, there are some small events, music and some shows. You can also find the food stalls available. However, the celebration focuses exclusively on the great parade that takes place on Queens Road and follows its course through the city.

 

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Isle of Wight Carnival Parades

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The main parade takes place on the day of the carnival itself. Here you will see the different schools and organizations taking to the streets with their large and colorful costumes. People start getting ready for the parade around 1:30 pm and then the parade starts at 3 pm.

 

 

Also, the parade is accompanied by music bands, samba and Caribbean music performances to add a little more rhythm and variety to the festivities.

 

Parade route

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People start getting ready for the big parade at 1:30 pm. Once the clock strikes 3:00 pm, the procession will leave Queens Road and head to Newport Street, then to High Street, following along Union Street and then ending at Easter Esplanade Gardens.

 

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What to eat at the Isle of Wight Carnival

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One of the typical dishes of the region is the Crab pasty, a pie filled with crab. You can also find the beef & ale pie, a pie stuffed with meat, mushrooms and beer.

If you want to visit the different places that the city offers, you can visit some of these that are the most recognized in the town Three Buoys, White lion pub or The White Hart Inn..

 

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Travel Insurance

 

From Carnavalesdelmundo.org we recommend to hire a good insurance to visit this carnival and to know the rest of the country. For being our readers we offer a 5% discount on all IATI insurance. Read more information about all insurance offers here:

 

 

What to see and do inside the Isle of Wight Carnival

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Taking part in the parade is one of the best activities you can do at the Isle of Wight Mardi Gras. Come and be part of the event along with the schools and groupings during the parade and you can watch all the costumes and decorations that take to the streets of the town. In addition, you can walk through the city accompanying the musical bands and the Caribbean music and samba groups.

At the end you can tour around visiting some of the food and gift stalls present in the city so you can try the dishes that the city has for you.

If you don’t want to complicate things, here you can book interesting excursions in Spanish in this city:.

 

What to see and do outside the Isle of Wight Carnivals

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The town of Ryde offers you some tourist attractions that you can visit during your trip to the carnivals, some of these are:

Quarr Abbey

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It is a monastery belonging to the Catholic order of St. Benedict. It is considered one of the most important religious structures in the United Kingdom.

 

Isle of Wight Bus & Coach Museum

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It is a museum established in 1997. The theme of the museum focuses on vehicles dating back to 1954. It is also a charity and is housed in the former Ryde bus station.

 

Isle Of Wight Distillery

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They are the first and only distillery on the island. Their mission is to create a commitment to the conservation and sustainability of local marine flora and fauna and to try to reduce plastic from packaging and supply chain.

Also if you want to visit museums and important buildings in this city we recommend that you book your ticket in advance through Tiquets: .

 

Safety at the Isle of Wight Carnivals

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The town of Ryde and theIsle of Wight are safe places to live and visit. However, there has been a slight increase in some crimes on the island.

In addition, we remind you to keep your belongings close by and communicate with activities if you identify any out of the ordinary activity. Also, we recommend the following products to keep your belongings safe:

 

 

Weather at the Isle of Wight Carnival

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During Mardi Gras in the town of Ryde the weather is pleasant, as the temperature hovers around 20 degrees Celsius.

 

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How to get to the Isle of Wight Carnivals

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How to get there by plane

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Unfortunately getting to theIsle of Wight is not possible via commercial flights. If you wish to attend the Mardi Gras, you will have to arrive at some UK airports and from there take the different means to get to the island. We will takeGatwick Airport as our starting point, as it is the easiest and most convenient access route.

We recommend buying airline tickets through Kiwi.com or Skyscanner where they are usually cheaper. More information on this link to review Kiwi.com..

 

How to get there by train

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From Gatwick Airport Gatwick take the train to Portsmouth Harbour. From there take the boat to Ryde Pier Head. The journey is almost three hours.

 

How to get there by bus

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From Gatwick Airport take the bus on the National Express line to Portsmouth, from there take a ferry to Ryde Pier Head.

 

How to get there by car

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From Gatwick Airport head for the Portsmouth ferry terminal, Take the ferry to the town of Ryde.

 

Where to stay at the Isle of Wight Carnival

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Booking.com

 

Yelf’s Hotel

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3-star hotel 150 meters from the center. Also, the facilities have free wifi, restaurant and bar.

 

Ryde Castle by Greene King Inns

3-star inn 400 meters from the center. Rooms have television and private bathrooms. In addition, facilities offer bar, restaurant and free wifi.

 

The Crown Hotel

3-star hotel 200 meters from the center. The rooms have a desk and satellite TV. The hotel offers a bar and free internet.

We recommend using Booking.com to book hotels at a good price, check more information here:.

 

Thank you for reading

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