July 1st Press Release

Ambergate Carnival 2009

"The plans for the 2009 Ambergate Carnival are finalising and it is shaping up to be an exciting week of events in the village" says Duncan Noble-Nesbitt from the Carnival Committee

The week starts off with the Sports day with the "Round and Round" race for youngsters and less athletic and the "Up and Down" race up into the woods. The afternoon will include further games and races and a pet show and will be taking place on the field at the new venue, The Hurt Arms Field on Sunday 5th July at 2pm.

Our ever popular General Knowledge quiz will be taking place on the 7th July at the Hurt Arms from 7.30 with a £5 entry for teams of four.

Friday night entertainment will be in the form of live blues in the Marquee at the Hurt Arms field, 10^th July 8pm. If you haven’t seen them before, then what better setting to reacquaint yourself with the best in what live blues has to offer, ZZ Birmingham. Following a gruelling tour of the UK, ZZ Birmingham Band return fresh faced and a little muddy from Glastonbury, to bring you the finest blues.

“Making the most of the festival season they return to their roots in the Derbyshire countryside to bring an eclectic mix of blues standards ranging from Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Bessie Smith, with just a hint of modern day arrangement from what Rock & Blues Magazine have voted the ‘Best Blues Band’ 3 years in a row."

On Carnival Day, 11^th July, The Carnival procession will include the Cresswell Colliery Band and will be commencing from the recreational ground in Ambergate at 1pm making the way to the Hurt Arms field. The parade will be led by our celebrity opener for this year, Bob the Builder in Scoop the Digger! The parade is Weather Themed so don your wellies and umbrellas or parasols and sun hats.

The main Carnival plans include JC Balls and Sons Digger Dance. There will be two performances by the Digger Dancers who are a team of 7 that put on a spectacular routine. Extreme Wheels BMX display and mobile skate park will also be there so you can participate in some wheely good fun. Johnny and the Raindrops will play music for children and those young at heart and Magical Mayhem will provide magical entertainment.  There will be traditional English and Irish Dancing from the Heage Windmillers. Have a go at target archery in a safe shooting environment too. There will be a huge team of cheerleaders from Starsteppers who will cheer on the Carnival and run a workshop for you to take part.

When the Diggers are not performing they will be parked up so you can have your picture taken with Bob and scoop. There will be Sports kite flying and parachuting toys in the digger arena; bring a small bear to dare to parachute from the skies. There will also be more than 20 stalls from local groups, organisations and businesses to enjoy at the Carnival Market area. There will be bouncy castles, slides, side shows, rides and plenty of food including a Hog Roast, Cream teas and Hot Donuts.

Programmes can be bought on the gate and there will be a donation based entry of £1. Further details can be found at our Carnival website - http://www.ambergatecarnival.org.uk/.

Don't forget the the Carnival Evening Session on Saturday Night too: Live rock music & DJs to round off the carnival with a bang in The Hurt Arms Grounds.

This year Ambergate Carnival have ventured into ‘Rebel Territory’ in putting on a great night of live music and DJs. We're really excited to be showcasing a couple of excellent local bands – Rebel Territory and The Fossils.

Tickets will be available in the run up to the night at £4 at the Book Shop in Belper and it'll be £5 on the door. Doors open at 7.30pm and the first band will be on at 8pm with a full bar and food available throughout.