Tilbury Carnival 20th July 2019

Thurrock is proud of its connections with the Empire Windrush, which arrived here at Tilbury Cruise Terminal on the 22nd June 1948 with the 70th Anniversary being celebrated last year in great style.

In partnership with the Port of Tilbury, Tilbury on the Thames Trust, Tilbury Riverside Project, One Community and Kinetika, Thurrock Council applied to the Windrush Fund to look at how we can mark Windrush Day as part of Tilbury Carnival 2019.

We are delighted to announce that the Windrush Fund has awarded £20,000 to the Council, complementing funding already secured by Tilbury on the Thames Trust. This includes a £10,000 contribution from the Port of Tilbury, £5,000.00 from Thurrock Council and a crucial £30,000 from Arts Council England.

At long last we are bringing carnival back to Tilbury, not quite in its traditional sense but an exciting spectacle, inspired by our local heritage and role within our national story through Empire Windrush.

The project will engage Tilbury school children and residents in a programme of educational workshops that culminate in a celebratory Windrush carnival on the 20th July 2019.

Tilbury on the Thames Trust are managing the project, with the locally based and renowned arts organisation Kinetika leading on the artistic elements. There will be local dancers, giant puppet building and celebratory flags created specifically to tell our local stories. We will also partner with Norwich, which will see our home grown talent perform in one of England’s oldest running carnival processions – the Lord Mayor’s Procession which is over 250 years old.

Building on last year’s introduction to Tilbury Carnival at the Port of Tilbury open day, we hope to create an even bigger parade dancing its way through Tilbury!

For more information on how to get involved with carnival please complete an expression of interest form at http://tilburycarnival.tott.org.uk