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St Pauls Carnival Invites Bristolians to Masquerade on its 40th Anniversary.

 

Bristol's St Pauls Carnival are inviting people to create their own costumes for free with top Carnival artists in their Mas camps for Carnival 2007, as well as costume making, there will also be the opportunity to make banners for the sound systems sites.

This year's procession will feature troupes such as Rampage, Masquerade 2000 and Nottingham Carnival alongside groups from Bristol schools, the Bristol Samba Band and other community groups

Pax Nindi, Carnival's Artistic Director "Mas(querade) is an old word that originates with the disguises and costumes worn by the revellers in Carnivals throughout history. We would like to invite Bristolians to make their own costumes this year and take part in the Carnival procession. While other artforms run around creating projects to mark this year_s Emancipation of slavery celebration, carnival is the only artform that has always celebrated the Emancipation a fact that has encouraged Caribbean style carnivals globally" For instance in Trinidad in the 1790s slaves secretly parodied the French elite classes by dressing up and mimicking them, and on the plantations Cannes Brulées was a torch-lit, costumed event created by emancipated slaves to parody plantation life and their liberation from it."

The making sessions are free and open to all, families, groups of friends and individuals. Trained Carnival artists will be on hand to help you design your costume around this year's theme of Rebirth.

Sessions will be held at:

St Pauls Learning Centre Grosvenor Road, Bristol
Adult Costume making
Wednesdays 8th, 15th, 22nd August

All Ages costume making and re-vamping old costumes
- family session and for anyone who wants to bring old costumes for repair
Saturdays August: 4th, 11th, 18th August 2-5pm

Carr House, William Street, St Pauls
Procession flag making
Fridays: 10th & 31st August and 7 September 12-3pm

Kuumba Centre, 20-23 Hepburn Road, Bristol
Sound System banner making
Fridays 3rd and 10th August 6-9pm

Please book for the FREE sessions on 0117 9444176

NOTES TO EDITORS

  • For Images: please contact St Paul's Communications Office, Kuumba, 20 -23 Hepburn Road, St. Paul's, Bristol BS2 8UD Tel: 0117 9444176 Email: info@stpaulscarnival.co.uk
  • Artistic Director, Pax Nindi - 07925 563583 / 07985 182 216
  • St. Paul's Carnival is core funded by Arts Council England and Bristol City Council.
  • St Paul's Carnival was started in the late sixties when Carnival was held in St Werburghs. It aims to promote cultural & community development in Bristol and beyond.
  • The event attracts on average, 40,000 people each year and has grown to become a nationally recognised event

Pax is a member of the Federation of European Carnivals, Vice President of the World Carnival Commission (Canada based), and regional Director for Trinidad's National Carnival Bands Association. He is currently an advisor and Cultural consultant for Western Union and the Welsh Arts Council. He is also very active in Hackney and Luton Borough Council, South Afrika's Guateng and Johannesburg Carnival strategy group, Arts Council England's decibel and several regional carnivals including Leicester, Leeds and Luton's UK Centre for Carnival Arts.