St Pauls Carnival has announced a new theme and executive director for 2019.
The theme will be entitled ‘Our journey’, and document the journey members of the Windrush generation took in the 1940s.
The iconic celebration of Bristol’s African-Caribbean culture will return on July 6, after last year’s event a huge success following three year absence.
The carnival will be led by newly appointed La Toya McAllister-Jones, the former head of operations at Ujima Radio.
The ‘Our Journey’ theme for St Pauls Carnival will pay homage to the first generation who came together in Bristol and set up organisations and groups to support their new lives in the UK.
Particular attention will be paid to the SS Empire Windrush, which marked the beginning of the post war mass migration, in response to an invitation by royalty to journey to the UK.
St Pauls Carnival has been confirmed to return to Bristol in 2019
The theme will be brought to life across every aspect of the event from dance, music and poetry to songs, the procession and the school’s programme.
It will chart the challenges faced by this generation from the 1960s to the present day, by reflecting on racism, as well as the valuable contribution to the city from Caribbean music, food, tradition, skills and dance which led to the founding of the St Pauls Carnival.
The carnival itself has always been a way to express and celebrate roots and culture, and break down racial barriers across the wider Bristol community.
This year’s event will be led by St Pauls Carnival’s newly appointed executive director LaToyah McAllister-Jones , a Bristol-based change management consultant former head of operations of the community interest company behind Ujima Radio .
LaToyah said: “St Pauls Carnival is a vibrant expression of our city’s wonderful diversity and an event that brings dozens of communities together. It is a chance to celebrate both our similarities and differences which is why we felt a theme of ‘Our journey’ would work so well for 2019."
She added: “Through this theme, people can explore their own life journeys, backgrounds and heritage and perhaps even more importantly, those of other people’s.
“This fits with the ethos of carnival which is primarily a celebration of Bristol’s African-Caribbean culture but also bangs the drum for diversity and inclusivity on a wider scale.”
Last year’s 50th anniversary celebrations of the carnival, saw around 100,000 people descend upon the area to admire the procession and enjoy the stages and sound systems on offer.
The carnival committee said: “The 2018 event was lauded as a great success with organisers prioritising the safety and enjoyment of those who attended.
"We ensured a legacy and education programme to involve schools across the city, as well as local businesses and other stakeholders."
“All in all we managed to successfully dispel negative preconceptions of the event that had built up over previous years.”
The committee hope that Carnival 2019 can build upon these foundations in this summers event.
For this year the carnival have secured funding from the Art Council England and Bristol City Council , and say they will announce further sponsors and sponsors and financial supporters soon.
