Kenilworth Carnival, 2013

Tickling your funny bone since 2010...

This year’s Carnival was on Saturday July 6^th 2013, and what an excellent and hot day!
This year we entered as pretty much what we are – a bunch of clowns!

The Chinewrde Clown Company LTD have been “Tickling your funny bone since 2010”. They are a group of clowns available to hire for functions such as Children’s parties, festivals, Carnival’s, Weddings and Funerals.

Group shot, complete with driver!

Each of the clowns specialise in a variety of tricks for example plate spinning, bat juggling, telling jokes and hula hooping.

As part of this year’s Kenilworth Carnival Relief, we were on a mission to take the red nose back – Kenilworth Carnival is the new red nose day!

The clowns working the crowds on the big day were:

Barry - The DIY clown, specializing in juggling special brew can’s, catapulting, and general carpentry.

 

Barry (Craig)

Charlotte De-Chaplan – Based on Charlie Chaplin who was a clown playing a tramp, Charlotte is a tramp playing a clown.

Charlotte (Louise)

 The Ukip Candidate – Telling jokes and hoping for votes.

 

Ukip candidate (Dennis)

CoCo Pops the clown - a traditional clown specializing in bubbles and is able to play ‘bring in the clowns’ on the car horn

 

CoCo Pops (Carole)

The flower clown - specialising in bringing an extra flair to public festivals and important meetings by producing flowers out of thin air

Flower Clown (Sara)

Emile D’Oop – a former Circe-de soleil clown with specialist skills in hula-hooping

 

Emile D'Oop (Ley)

Keith Ledger – Re-formed to perform as a fruit bat juggler

Keith Ledger (Jac)

His and hers clowns - girl clown specialises in animals jumping through hoops and the boy clown specialises in juggling

His N' Hers (Sarah & Onur)

 Doozey Duke – a cheerful clown who specialises in plate spinning in bulk, can have plates spinning 10 yards away as well as spinning them in hand

Doozey Duke (Abba)

 The family of clowns – a small family of circus character clowns

 

Circus family (Graham, Jules and Rhys)

And finally, the Chinewrde Carnival Collective Jester – available for satire and jest, specialises in water pistol firing and jokes

CCC Jester (Elicia)

 

We came second place on the day

www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1c9H_Mm3rw

http://www.kenilworthcarnival.org.uk

 

 

 

 

That's a sheet of a different colour!

Kenilworth Carnival 2013

We have had our final meeting, we have sourced our costumes, we had ordered our make-up… we are in the process of sourcing and making our props… we are dyeing the sheets (again!)…. And we have a final track list to our soundtrack – Kenilworth Carnival 2013 here we come.

After a sombre look back at our entry last year, we have returned to our manifesto, and we are bigger, better and slightly more left field – again! The crowds are in for a treat… there’s no pink this year!

If you follow us on twitter, you will be aware of the breadcrumb like clues that have been dropped along the way…
No pink
Dyeing sheets
Animals include 1 monkey, 1 elephant and 1 alligator
Orange balls
Bubbles – lots of
Lots of hot air
A walking stick
And of course there is a character called Barry (but it's not last year’s corgi).

This year’s carnival is Saturday 6^th July, and the procession starts at 1pm, so get your places ready for a bit of a boogie and start donating lots of coppers to an excellent and important cause – Kenilworth Carnival.

For more details about Kenilworth Carnival see their website

www.kenilworthcarnival.org.uk

Let’s make this Carnival a year to remember!!!

 

Hope the Morris Dancers will be partaking this year – it’s not the same without them!

Kenilworth Carnival, 2013

After a busy last 9 months, we have finally got over 'Strictly Royal'. We have a new addition to our family, along with a new dog...

... and we have had our first official meeting.

With just under 11 weeks to go, we are working on our character names and personality's ready for the big day - Saturday 6th July.

Pop the date in your diary and get ready for a return to form with our slightly twisted entry this year...*



*teasers to follow... that was not an OFFICIAL clue!

Our Carnival History: 2009-2012

On the road to becoming the Chinewrde Carnival Collective

In 2008, Carole had a heart bypass and although it went well and she made a full recovery it was obvious that walking the Carnival in 2009 was not a safe option. So that year, Louise gathered a few of the previous Kenilworth Carnival stars along with some new participants under the group name of ‘Louise’s Family & Friends’ and they became ‘The Travelling Carnivale, circa 1932’.

Carole was a fortune teller; Louise was a snake charmer; Craig was a he-she; Fran was a dancer; Dennis was the world’s strongest man; Sarah was the Bearded Lady and Dean was the Lion Tamer.

Those of us who had been in the Carnival previously remembered how much we missed it, those who were new to it realised how much fun it could be and altogether as a group we enjoyed the planning; making props and creating characters.

The Travelling Carnivale had a hint of naughtiness; it was a little risky and slightly dark in tone - but fun! We made the Carnival Spectators laugh and in the process enjoyed ourselves and the Carnival day buzz! The Travelling Carnivale may not have been bought together by the Chinewrde Carnival Collective (the group that did not exist yet), but it had the stirrings of what our little group was about to become, it was indeed the first step in the Chinewrde Carnival Collective years.



The Travelling Carnivale, circa 1932

 In 2010, some of us from the Travelling Carnivale and a few former ‘Harris Family’ members met up to discuss being in the Carnival again. After almost ending up with a ‘straight lorry’ an old idea evolved into something quite spectacular. A very simple, sophisticated and visual idea bought out the dark side of our imaginations with just a hint of fun!

We sat together and discussed what Carnival meant to us, why we wanted to be in it and we created a manifesto and a group name:

We aim to be Avant Guarde with a twist

Use our Sense of Humour and Theatrics

We keep it Sophisticated and Simple

Subversive and Offensive

With some Cross-dressing of course!

The Chinewrde Carnival Collective was formed.

In 2010, The Chinewrde Carnival Collective entered the Carnival as Zombie Carnival Queens 1925-1945, and consisted of Carole, Louise, Craig, Ley, Jac, Sara, Dean, Elicia, Abba, and Sarah



Zombie Carnival Queens, 2010

In 2011, we met up and discussed ideas for the Carnival; we were on a roll and were excited by what we could achieve. After some discussions about how we could push and pull the ‘rules’ of Kenilworth Carnival in a creative way - another excellent idea evolved.

Conscious of how the Kenilworth Carnival had been lacking in bands and the ‘right’ kind of noise (in recent years), we decided to tackle the lack of accompanying bands head on by entering as one ourselves. It is our hope that this might encourage Marching bands in the local area to become involved with Kenilworth Carnival again – we need you!

We created a ‘marching band’ from nothing, and shaped an accompanying blog to build a history in order to add credence to our little Troup! http://ccmarchingband.blogspot.co.uk

The blog was complete with characters who would be involved in that year’s carnival (played by ourselves), there was a history and back-story written for the band that did exist and even specially doctored images of each Chinewrde Carnival Collective member as their character!

In 2011, the Chinewrde Marching Band consisted of Carole, Dennis, Louise, Craig, Veronica, Abba, Sarah, Dean, Elicia, Ley, Sara, Jac, Graham, Ryhs and Uncle Peter drove the 4x4.



The Chinewrde Marching Band, 2011

2012 – Not our best year!

This year, things did not seem to go smoothly for the Carnival, at a couple of stages it even looked as though there might not even be a Carnival anymore. Meanwhile, as we were desperately trying to help the committee ensure the Carnival continued for the future, our little group was also struggling; we were still over excited by the Chinewrde Marching Band entry and a little astonished at how much of a success it had been – these two things created a slight hiccup!

The problem is that it is difficult to ‘poke a little fun’ at the Carnival when it is struggling so much to continue, and it is even harder to find an idea after you’ve been involved in something that you don’t know how to ‘top’.

We spent some time working on our blog, and ideas for our logo. After going over the manifesto repeatedly we realised that we are sort of modern day jesters! We poke fun (but not in a malicious way), so the logo’s were created and the blog was updated… but still no idea to ‘top’ 2011!

Finally, we resolved to entertain this year, and we became to royal family doing ‘Strictly…’

Strictly Royal involved four judges (Dennis as Fergie; Carole and the Queen of Hearts; Sara and a High court Judge and Craig as the Arch-Bishop) and a selection of the Royal family dancing (Elicia as Kate; Abba as William; Veronica as Charles; Louise as Camilia; Sarah as the Queen; Onur as Philip; Ley as Harry; Jac as Anne; Dean as Beatrice) the ‘dances’ were all silly routines, including YMCA; Superman; Time Warp; Vogue and Thriller.

Strictly Royal, 2012

 We had a laugh, it was fun but it wasn’t quite right, there were elements of the Chinewrde Carnival Collective manifesto such as the corsets on show during the Time Warp and Vogue and of course the ping pong balls! However, it was not naughty enough, it did not have a slight dark element to it and it was a little too ‘nice’.

But do not worry… we have a meeting coming up very soon and we will be back next year with a much better carnival entry!

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Our Carnival History: 1995-2008

Unfortunately, no one has accurate dates or ‘titles’ for the following period: 1993-2008. We have tried to piece together a rough chronology of what the family entered the Carnival as during this period, below is what we think happened:

In between Glenn Miller and the Blue Danube.

In 1993, Joan entered as a fancy dress walker. She was dressed in Walker’s Crisp Packets and was called Mrs Walker’s Crisp.



Mrs Walker's Crisp (1993)

 In 1994, Carole and Fran entered as a couple of fizzy drinks can’s, one was Pepsi and the other was Pepsi Max (they came 3^rd place)

Post Blue Danube:

Circa 1996, Alice, Fran & Carole entered as fancy dress walkers (with Bikes) as something to do with looking after your health, one was a heart, one was vitamins and one was a balanced diet.



Fran, Alice and Carole

Circa 1997-2008, includes some of the following entries:

•     Carole as ‘Tropical dress’ (potentially 2006)

•     Carole as ‘Clowning Around’

•     Carole and Joan as ‘We are Rubbish’
•     Joan was ‘Sweets’ the same year that Carole was ‘Patchwork’

•     Fran & Fred with ‘The Trinket Box’ using the trailer as the musical box the lady spins around on.

•     Fran & Fred as ‘Swanning Around’, Fran was dressed as a match girl with giant matches on her back while Fred was in a giant packet of Swan Matches

 

Fran

The following dates and titles are a little more confirmed:

In 2001 Fran & Fred entered with their interpretation of ‘Typical English Weather ‘

Meanwhile, the same year (2001), Joan was ‘The big Breakfast’ and came 2^nd; while Carole was ‘Rag’s to Riches’ and came 1^st place.

In 2002, Joan entered as ‘The Four Seasons’, while Carole was ‘Jubilee Dress’ and came 2^nd.

In 2005, Carole entered as ‘It’s My Party’ and was also “Highly Recommended” that year.

In 2007, Carole entered as ‘Leader of the Pack’.

And for her final fancy dress Walking year, in 2008 Carole entered Kenilworth carnival as a huge Carnival type extravaganza!



Carnival Dress



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Our Carnival History: 1990-1995

Continuing into the 1990’s the Harris Family seemed to be on a roll…

In 1990, the Harris Family entered Kenilworth Carnival as ‘Classical Strings’. Each member of the family was dressed in a black suit with a red cumber-band, each with their own ‘musical instrument’. The family ‘performed’ as though they were a real orchestra (on the back of the lorry). As an extra, every time the wedding tune came on the family threw confetti into the crowd.

Kate Conducted the orchestra, Joan was the Percussionist playing the Piano and the Drums, Jac, Ley, Fran, and Carole all played the Violins, Alice played the Violin and the Triangle, and Louise played the Cello.

This year’s entry meant lots of practice, in order to make it appear that the members were actually playing the cardboard instruments!



Classical Strings, 1990

In 1991, the Harris Family were back with their interpretation of a ‘Garden Party’. Based on the lyrics from the song ‘The Ugly Bug Ball’, each member of the family was a insect from the garden.  

Joan was a Bumble Bee, Carole was a Butterfly, Fran was a Lady bird, Alice was a Beetle, Kate was a Caterpillar, Louise was a Woodlouse and Sarah was a Spider. In the photographs we seem to have a Gardener on the lorry – I’ve no idea who that is!!

This is the first year that Sarah participated in the Carnival.



The Garden Party, 1991

In 1992, the Harris family entered as Glenn Miller (no one remembers the actual title for this year).  

Alice was Glenn Miller, Joan, Fran, Carole and Sarah were women, and Ley, Louise, Kate and Nicola were men.

This was Nicola’s only Carnival with the family, Kate got to wear a sailor’s uniform, and Louise ended up looking like Gomez Addams from the Addams Family, while Ley looked like GI Joe!

There were lots of practices for this theme too – as the family danced all the way round the Carnival procession to the sounds of Glenn Miller.

Glenn Miller, 1992

After Glenn Miller, for many reasons, the Harris family decided not to enter the Carnival together again. However, in 1995 the Harris Family did reunite for one last Carnival entry.

So in 1995, for their last ever Carnival as the Harris Family they entered as ‘the Blue Danube’.

Alex, Ley, Jac and Sara were the men, while Joan, Alice, Carole and Louise were the women.

Again, there were lots of practices learning how to Waltz, and the family danced all the way around the procession - this time to Strauss.

The Blue Danube, 1995

 From 1995 onwards, the majority of the family went back to being spectators and supporters.

A few members of the family (Alice, Fran, Joan and Carole) continued participating in Kenilworth Carnival as Fancy dress walkers, but that’s another chapter in the story…

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Our Carnival History: the 1980's

After a break between the 1960’s and the beginning of the 1980’s, the ‘Harris Family’ slowly started to get involved in Kenilworth Carnival again. After spectating each year, with their children and enjoying it, it became apparent that they just could not stay out of it!

Meanwhile, a now current member of the Chinewrde Carnival Collective had a go at Kenilworth Carnival Fame too!

The Kenilworth Carnival Queen Float;

Kate, who went onto join the ‘Harris Family’ floats, was chosen to be an attendant on the Kenilworth Carnival Queen Lorry, in (circa) 1981.

Kenilworth Queen Lorry, 1981

Dean, who is now a current member of the Chinewrde Carnival Collective, was chosen to be a page boy on the Kenilworth Carnival Queen Lorry, in (circa) 1985. I am told he was chosen because while the judging was taking place he was calling out and waving to his mum and the audience thought he was cute!



Kenilworth Queen Lorry, circa 1985. Dean is in the front row (right)

Fancy Dress Walkers:

Then In 1986, Fran and Carole asked their daughters if they would like to be in the Carnival that year. They said yes and entered as fancy dress walkers. Kate was Fergie and Louise was Andy entering that year as ‘The Royal Wedding’. This entry did not gain them a cup unfortunately (they were only runner’s up) however, they did manage to get in front of the procession by walking too fast and therefore led the Carnival around the streets right in front of the Carnival Queen Float! The Police on duty that year thought they were cute, so they let them carry on!!

Kate and Louise, 1986

The Harris Family Years:

Then in 1987, the Harris Family decided that they missed being in the Carnival and it was time to revive the family tradition. So Louise entered the Carnival that year with St Barnabas 5^th pack Brownies, as Fancy Dress Walkers comprised of walking Road Signs (they Came first in their class), while the rest of the family entered on a float.

In 1987, the ‘Harris Family’ entered Kenilworth Carnival with their interpretation of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The group comprised that year of Joan; Carole; Alice; Fran; Tracey; and Kate. The family members were each dressed as the Zombies, (Joan was dressed as a Zombie Michael Jackson) and they performed the Thriller dance routine all the way around the carnival procession. Other members of the wider family supported in their own ways, Louise helped with costume; Jac helped with make-up and props and Ley helped with photography.

Thriller, 1986

In 1988, Louise decided she would rather be with her family than the Brownies and therefore joined the ‘Harris Family’ for their entry as Video Boom, Ley & Jac also joined in that year.

Each family member was a character from a Blockbuster film. Joan was Michael Jackson (From the Bad Video); Carole was Superman; Alice was Rambo; Kate was Madonna (from Who’s that Girl?); Fran was the Bunny Boiler (fatal Attraction); Ley was Indiana Jones; Jac was Freddie Krueger; Tracey was Tina Turner and Louise was one of the wild children (both from the same film Mad Max, Beyond Thunder-dome).

Video Boom, 1988



In 1989, the group entered as the Harris Family Rock Concert. The family members were all dressed like giant boulders / rocks (in huge potato sacks sewn together and painted, with little hats with moss on the top!) and performed ‘Rock music’ on their various instruments. Joan and Kate played guitars; Carole was the singer; Fran and Alice played the Sax and Louise Played the drums.



Rock Concert, 1989

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