Photograph by Gavin Bray
SWICA Carnival are launching the 25th Cardiff Carnival and encouraging one and all to celebrate by taking over the city’s streets in true carnival style.
Three weeks of FREE Carnival Arts workshops – designing and making costumes as well as carnival dance for parade – kick off with the Cardiff Carnival 2014 Launch Event at the new location Carnival Camp. The Carnival Camp will be held this year at Fitzalan High School and the Cardiff Carnival 2014 Launch Event will be held on Monday 22nd July 6.30pm.
The Launch is a chance to meet SWICA Carnival’s team of expert carnival artists and to try on a typical flamboyant costume bedecked with feathers, sequins and glitter for size – as well as see SWICA’S Carnival Crew performing their Afro-Celtic inspired dance performance called “Dragon Arise”.
The Launch is followed by the free carnival design, making and dancing workshops which run from Tuesday 22nd July to Thursday 7th August: the Carnival Camp is open to the public from midday to 8.00pm every day.
Steve Fletcher, SWICA Carnival Artistic Director and founder of the Cardiff Carnival in 1990 says “Absolutely everyone is welcome at the Carnival Camp – it’s like a pop up creative village full of sequins, feather and glitter: a unique opportunity to come together creatively and make new friends.
“The Carnival Camp is stocked to the brim with enthusiastic carnival artists and dance tutors who are keen to help everyone to unleash their imagination using glitter and glitzy materials to make dreams a carnival reality.
“SWICA Carnival is excited to be working with Fitzalan High School in Leckwith this year. We are hosting a number of pupils from the school as part of their Skills Week this week at the our office – pupils are learning new carnival-related skills which they will be able to put into practice on their costumes at the Carnival Camp for this year’s parade.
“This is a very special year for Cardiff Carnival which is going to be bigger and better than ever – Cardiff Carnival 2014 will mark a quarter century of transforming the city centre with a riot of colour. SWICA Carnival’s city centre location will see the very best of Cardiff’s creative community – not only amazing carnival costumes and creations but also celebratory world music, street magic, zumba, burlesque and more besides.”
The finale parade on Saturday 9th August 2014 is going to be outstanding – you can expect a Wales’ biggest and brightest carnival parade featuring hundreds of specially made costumes on a wide variety of themes.”
For further details contact SWICA at www.swicacarnival.co.uk.
