A vibrant carnival celebrating community life in Chester has been cancelled after no one replied to a plea for help.
Over the past four years thousands of people have enjoyed music and dancing at the annual Brook Street Carnival, which features in a giant mural proudly displayed in the community.
Now, despite the diverse family festival growing in popularity, organisers have called off the event after none of the local traders responded to a flyer asking for help and ideas for next summer's carnival.
Upset residents and former performers took to social media saying they were ‘gutted’ after Friends of Brook Street posted their ‘difficult’ decision on Facebook following a meeting on Monday, December 8.
The carnival was already in the planning stages, but was cancelled as its growing popularity meant more work for the small group of volunteers.
A statement posted on the social media site said that the decision ‘had not been taken lightly’ and that it had been hoped that a ‘more proactive’ attitude would have been adopted by the very people the carnival was set up to help, but ‘sadly, this was not the case’.
“It has been run by the same couple of guys every year, they just wanted a bit of help,” said Martyn Delaney, councillor for Boughton who attended the meeting about the future of the event. He said it was a shame that people ‘aren’t interested in Brook Street’.
“Unfortunately they didn’t get one reply. I seems a bit sad that there are people who benefit from it in Brook Street who do not seem to get involved.
“It is just one of those things, it came from an idea from nowhere, everyone has a great time, it is great fun – there is nothing like it in Chester.”
Despite attending the carnival for the last four years, this is the first year that Cllr Delaney has championed the event as the local councillor, after being elected following the tragic death of Cllr David Robinson. Organisers paid tribute to Cllr Robinson saying without him the carnival ‘just would not have happened’.
But the festival, started in 2011 to highlight the community’s growing multiculturalism, could still have a future if enough people chip-in and show their support, Cllr Delaney believes. He has allocated money to the event through his councillor’s allowance.
He said: “People come into the street and go on from there into the town spending money, personally I would love to see it go ahead. It is a great shame.”
“It might not be the last if people get together and show support. Let’s try to save it.”
The news comes as we can reveal that Brook Street will not have Christmas illuminations this year due to insurance issues, but instead have two decorated trees.
