Forget Notting Hill, thousands flock to Kingston Carnival (From Surrey Comet)

Forget Notting Hill, thousands flock to Kingston Carnival - with video

10:30am Wednesday 8th September 2010 in Top stories By Omar Oakes

A spectacular mix of music, food and dance lit up Kingston town centre on Sunday, as thousands turned out for the 20th annual carnival.

For the first time, the Kingston Carnival procession took a circular route, starting at the Guildhall and passing through Eden Street, Clarence Street and Market Place.

The carnival celebrates cultural diversity and heritage and was organised by the Kingston Race and Equalities Council (Krec), KingstonFirst, Global Arts Kingston and Kingston Council.

Krec boss John Azah described the carnival as “fantastic” and said he could not have asked of any more from the day.

He said: “We managed to double the amount of people we had last year and it is all thanks to our partners and volunteers who have worked so hard to make the carnival a success.”

Click here for a picture gallery from the event

One of those new groups included council contractor Quadron, whose staff donated a 7.5 tonne truck to lead the procession, and a Kingston businessman who donated his open-top Jeep after Mr Azah approached him in the street.

Mr Azah said: “I just saw him in the road and asked if he would be interested in helping us. He ended up bringing his whole family who were dressed in carnival clothes. This is what carnival is all about.”

The afternoon of fun included exotic food stalls, street performers and a range of activities including tarot cards and face painting.