Community in Milton Keynes prepares for musical-themed and fun-filled carnival this month

Residents in New Bradwell are preparing for their traditional carnival this month – a traditional that dates bakc 100 years.

This year’s New Bradwell Carnival will take place on Saturday July 15 and the theme is ‘musicals’.

The annual event is organised by New Bradwell School’s PTA and the pupils play a strong part in it. Each year group will dress up as characters from a different musical to take part in the grand carnival parade, which starts at midday.

The children will walk the local streets, headed by the historic Bradwell Silver Band.

After the procession there will be a fete on the school field with stalls and attractions including bouncy castles, a tombola, coconut shy, funfair, BBQ, and ice and snack vans.

There will be Indian food, sweet treats and plenty more, promise the organisers.

The school cafeteria will also be open for drinks and snacks and there will even be a preloved uniform stall where people can grab a bargain ready for next year.

The arena will have shows from the Bradwell Silver Band, Milton Keynes Dance Centre, Bollywood Dance and more.

"There will also be a couple of guest appearances, but we will keep that a surprise for now!” said a PTA spokesman.

Tickets for a raffle with more than 40 prizes will be sold on the day.

The spokesman said: “The carnival is a really important date in the New Bradwell diary, not just for the school but the wider local community too. It is just such a wonderful event that brings the whole community out together.

"It also has a very long history, which makes it even more special in my opinion. The tradition of holding a carnival in New Bradwell dates back over 100 years. The first carnival that the school put on themselves was in 1986, this was a re-enactment of the 1911 Stantonbury (as New Bradwell was then known) Coronation Pageant.“

There are some wonderful photos of these very old carnivals on MK’s Living Archive site here.

You can find more details of the carnival, together with updates, here.

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