Members of Burnham-On-Sea’s Hillview Carnival Club have put the finishing touches to their cart, called Jungle Fever, ahead of the start of Somerset’s carnival season in Bridgwater on Saturday.
The club – which is celebrating its 40th year – has completed its jungle-themed entry with the help of a team of volunteers working around the clock.
Decorated with more than 5,000 light bulbs, the 80ft-long cart has cost the club more than £10,000 to build.
Hillview’s Duncan Britton told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “Everything’s on track for the first parade of the season – our team has been working incredibly hard to get the cart fully completed in time.”
“The children who will perform on it are ready too and the excitement is now building ahead of Bridgwater.”
The club thanked Terry Rickards at Burnham Waste, who has allowed the cart to be built on his site in Highbridge after the loss of Woodberry and Haines, the club’s pevious home, earlier in the summer.
Hillview’s treasurer, Lyn Burland, added: “We’re relieved to be going to Bridgwater with such a great cart. It’s been a tough year for us after struggling to find somewhere to build the entry and it did look at one point as though we wouldn’t be out this year.”
Hillview’s team of volunteers have been working all hours installing light bulbs and painting the final sections of the cart over the past few days as the entry has been completed.
It will be seen by thousands of people at carnivals across Somerset, starting in Bridgwater this evening and then Highbridge and Burnham on Monday, when the carnival will start at 7.30pm (November 3rd).
Pictured: Hillview’s Chrissy Britton and Sue Buck working on the cart this week helped by, centre, some of the club’s younger members
RELATED LINKS:
Burnham-On-Sea Carnival 2014
