Hertford Carnival 2012

Hertford Carnival returns to the streets after an absence of 12 years. The carnival takes place on Sunday 24th June with the theme "A Festival Of Nations".

As well as the traditional procession through the town, entertainment and stalls are being planned for the grounds of Hertford Castle and classic cars on Hartham Common.

The theme will be A Festival of Nations, with participants invited to adopt a country to represent in whichever way they wish. The theme was chosen as the eyes of the world will be on the UK in 2012, with over 200 nations set to be represented at the Olympics, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee to be marked across the Commonwealth. The carnival takes place a fortnight before the Olympic Torch travels through the town.

Castle Grounds

The Carnival will be formally opened by the Mayor of Hertford, Cllr Jane Sartin, at midday in the Castle grounds. Cllr Sartin will be assisted in the opening by the Carnival princess and her attendants.

There will be over 50 stalls and refreshments in the grounds of Hertford Castle. Some stalls will have an international flavour, as per our Festival of Nations theme; others will be crowd-pleasing favourites.

Procession

The procession will leave Hartham Common at 2pm and travel from Hartham Lane through Old Cross, The Wash, Parliament Square, Fore Street, Market Street, Railway Street and Mill Road to Mead Lane. Trophies will be awarded for Best Commercial Group float, Best Non Profit Making Group float and Best Youth Group float. Floats will be judged by the Mayor, Cllr Jane Sartin, accompanied by the Carnival princess and attendants, just prior to the commencement of the procession. Design, visual impact, and effort will all be considered. Trophies will be awarded at 4.15pm in the Castle grounds.

Charities

The proceeds from the Carnival will be be split between two Hertford charities, Young Life Hertford and the Hertford Toy Library.

Young Life Hertford is a Christian charity which works alongside local churches with young people. The charity applied to be the carnival's charity in order to raise money to help fund a day camp held at Haileybury College in Hertford Heath, for young people aged 11 to 16.

Hertford Toy Library is open to families in the Hertford area who have children from birth to 5 years of age. It offers a range of stimulating, therapeutic and educational toys. They will use some of the money raised to replace office equipment that is used to run the charity.

Classic Bus Day Hertford's Classic Bus Day features vintage buses running their old routes

Castle Events Hertford Castle and grounds host a variety of events throughout the year