| Carnival goes back as far as 1973. The late Councillor
Fred Grattidge, Malcolm Currie and Arthur Williams were prime movers in
starting Carnival. In its first year, according to Malcolm Currie, a small
procession lined up in Greenwood Avenue. Two years later there was an Acocks
Green Festival and Carnival, which started with a Carnival Queen Dance on
Saturday June 21st, where a Carnival Queen was chosen: her prizes were an
airline ticket for a day in Jersey, a hairdo courtesy of Lesley's and a
dress from Iris Boutique!
Saturday 28th June saw a Country Fayre at Stone Hall, in
aid of the Brain Damage Rehabilitation Unit at the Accident Hospital. Events
included Morris dancing, fencing, country crafts sideshows, competitions,
and farmhouse teas.
However the main week was from 4th to 12th July. On Friday
4th the Methodist church hosted a local history talk by John Morris Jones,
and on Sunday 6th the Churchill Citizen's Club organised a ramble and
evening social. For the whole of the next week the library had a local
history exhibition. Monday 7th saw local infant schools visiting Fox Hollies
forum to see a presentation by the Trinity Arts Troupe, and the Forum also
hosted a table tennis exhibition on the same day, where you could watch
expert players and have a go. On Tuesday 8th Acocks Green Folk Dance Society
arranged a folk dance on St Mary's lawns.
Wednesday 9th saw a schools bowling competition at the
Warwick Bowl, and an open afternoon and sale at the Forum, and Holy Souls
youth club organised a "watersplash", a playscheme on water. On Thursday
10th the Forum hosted an art and craft exhibition and sale, and a n evening
concert with the Razzle Dazzle Gatemouth Spasm String Band, no less. If you
didn't fancy that, you could go and look round the Churchill Citizen's Club.
Friday 11th brought an Under Fives' event at the Forum, and Saturday 12th a
Barbeque and Folk evening organised by the 260th Scouts at Summer Road, and
a Festival recital at St Mary's church.
All this was additional to Carnival itself, which took
place on Saturday 12th. This was on an entirely different scale to 1973. The
procession went from Greenwood Avenue near Fox Hollies Road to Shirley Road,
then along Dolphin Lane to the Warwick Road, then along to the centre, then
up Westley Road to the Recreation Ground. They tied up the centre of Acocks
Green for two hours. Over thirty groups took part in the Procession, which
was led by the horses of the Police Mounted Division. The main arena had,
among other things, the Police's West Midland Pipe Band, a gymkhana
performed by the Headley Heath Riding Club, and a display of vintage
motorcycles. There was a Lucas Netball knockout, a schools five-a-side and a
schools Penalty Kick, for which a goalkeeper was brought in. There were also
boxing displays. Acocks Green Library won 1st Prize for the best float.
This combined festival and carnival was so successful that
1976 brought the same kind of programme leading up to Carnival day itself.
For example Monday 5th July saw a medieval concert and supper at St Mary's
church.
Carnival Committee helped towards the cost of landscaping
the frontage of Acocks Green Library in 1981, and also provided benches
there. They have made many grants to worthy causes over the years. Carnival
has remained, but the longer Festival has not stood the test of time. In
1998, a booklet was produced to celebrate 25 years of Carnival.
Other Carnival photos
More majorettes (there were three groups
altogether that year)
A dragon, 1982
Jaime Bryan (Carnival Queen) and James Ross
from Severne Road Nursery, 1982
The Fox Hollies Forum float, 1994
Another view of the Fox Hollies Forum float
Carnival float, 1994 on the Recreation
Ground
Win a Mr Blobby, 1994
More about Carnival Fox
Hollies and the Walker family
The origins of Fox Hollies
The Walker era
Sale catalogue, Fox Hollies Hall
Housing between
the wars
Fox Hollies
since the war
Acocks Green Carnival
Hall Green Little Theatre
Fox Hollies Forum
Fox Hollies Special School
Ninestiles School
Childhood memories of Jean Mercer
The work of Dave
Swingle
The work of Elsie Carter
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