Revellers have just days left to enter a float in Erewash’s biggest carnival parade – as the borough council confirmed the annual road closures.
The theme for this year’s Long Eaton spectacular is “That’s Entertainment”.
Carnival weekend kicks off on Friday 7 June with live music from 7pm to 10pm in the town’s West Park.
The big parade is on Saturday 8 June when it sets off from the park at 11am before arriving back there around an hour and a half later. A spokesman said: “This is when the carnival officially starts – and the best bit is that it is free.”
Sunday will see the weekend of fun continue with park events including a car boot sale. The organising committee’s chairman Pete Smith said: “We’re actually a week earlier this year to avoid clashing with the revellers at Download – not that we’re competing for headliners.”
The carnival was first held 93 years ago – and its jokey slogan is “Bringing chaos to Long Eaton since 1931”.
It is staged by dedicated volunteers who devote a year to planning and fundraising. With the deadline for entering floats looming, a plea has also gone out for more local people to sign up as stewards and marshals.
A member of the Long Eaton Community Carnival Association confirmed: “We’re always looking for additional hands and helpers, acts, businesses and organisations who might want to be involved on the day and in the lead up to it.”
The deadline to enter floats is Friday 24 May. More information, including how to volunteer, can be found at the carnival’s website here:
Long Eaton Carnival – Bringing Long Eaton people together as a community
The road closures from 11am to 1.30pm will be on a rolling basis – with routes reopening to traffic once the Community Carnival Parade passes. The roads are:
- Wilsthorpe Road (B6002) from the entrance to West Park event field to its junction with Tamworth Road (Long Eaton Railway Station).
- Thoresby Road – in its entirety.
- Tamworth Road (B6540) from its junction with Wilsthorpe Road (Long Eaton Railway Station) to its junction with the Market Place.
- Market Place – in its entirety.
- Derby Road (A6005) – in its entirety.
- Wilsthorpe Road (B6002) from its junction with Derby Road (A6005) finishing at its junction with Thoresby Road.