NLTG save prestigious Accrington Carnival again

(Pictured left to right: Jim Harkness MBE NLTG Managing Director, Collette Humphreys NLTG Operations Director, Lesley Hudson NLTG Senior Manager, Gayle Knight and Tracy Simmonds.)

Organisers of the Accrington Carnival have spoken of their joy after securing vital funding for the event.

The North Lancs Training Group (NLTG) has agreed to become the main sponsor of this year’s festival after stepping in with £3,500 of funding.

The Observer reported last month how the carnival is returning in 2017 after a new committee was formed to save it.

Gayle Knight, who chairs the Accrington Carnival Committee, said the involvement of the work-based training provider will ensure they have the ‘basics covered’.

She said: “It’s amazing that NLTG are prepared to put so much in as support. We are so grateful for it.

“It would be great to say that it’s for something flashy, but it’s very important to have the basics first because it’s such a big event.

“People perhaps don’t realise how much it costs. Insurance alone is £1,000 and then we need lots of toilets and first aid, as there will be lots of people there.”

The carnival will take place on Sunday, June 25, and the theme of the procession will be ‘The Ages of Accrington’.

The future of the historic event was thrown into doubt after the last carnival in 2015 when Accrington Lions announced they would no longer continue to organise it, citing a shortage of help.

Gayle said: “Things are going ahead full steam and we are very happy with the date we have chosen. We have got a really nice big group of interested committee members with people from across the community like charities, schools and businesses. We have really got the support of the council, who we need for things like the park and the route.”

This year’s event will also see the return of carnival royalty, with the addition of a King and Prince.

Jim Harkness MBE, managing director of North Lancs Training Group, said: “We are delighted to be the main sponsor again of this year’s Accrington Carnival and to provide the funding needed to ensure its continuing success.

“This is a fitting opportunity to further support our local community.”

Excerpt from Accrington Observer