Whaley Bridge rallies round to save the Rose Queen

Whaley Bridge has rallied round its iconic summer event, the Rose Queen Carnival. Organisers, who feared the carnival might die, were delighted with the turnout at a public meeting called to discuss ways of saving the event.

More than 40 people crowded into the reception area of the Bowling Club, with a glass of wine provided to lubricate the discussion. Eleven of them agreed to join the committee or be a helper in a specific role at the carnival.

A relieved chairman of the carnival committee, Tim Mourne, said: “I’m very encouraged and now feel confident the Rose Queen will go ahead next year. Thank you Whaley Bridge. The meeting was excellent. There were far more people than we ever expected and some very constructive ideas came out.”

One speaker even thought the carnival could modernise into areas like My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding!

The crisis meeting was called when organisers realised a number of committee members, with long service, wished to retire. After the successful 40th anniversary in June, it was a moment of truth: if younger people didn’t come forward, there wouldn’t be a show in 2016.

One retiring committee member said: “This is a valuable opportunity for new people with new ideas. They are not bound to do everything in the same way.”

The new volunteers will meet in the Bowling Club at 7.30pm on Thursday 19 November. The annual general meeting will be at the same venue on Monday 18 January.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.