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On 22nd November, the Corfe Mullen Carnival Festive Lights were officially switched on, bringing a magical glow to the Town.
This wonderful display was made possible thanks to generous donations from local businesses and many members of our community.
To manage cost the Carnival Committee rolled up their sleeves and installed the new replacement lights themselves. A special thank you goes to Jade Aden for kindly providing a cherry picker and operator, ensuring safe access during installation.
We hope you enjoy the festive sparkle but It’s not too late to support our Festive Light Fund, every donation helps us expand the display. Simply scan the QR code below to contribute.
On behalf of the Carnival Committee, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!
David Mills
Chair
The past twelve months have been another outstanding chapter in the story of Corfe Mullen Carnival. Every event was delivered to an exceptional standard, enjoyed by the community and most importantly, run safely.
We began the year with the Christmas Parade and Festive Lights, which once again lit up the village and were warmly received by residents. My sincere thanks go to the committee members who worked to install the new festive lights on a couple of Saturdays in November, as well as to our generous sponsors whose support made it all possible.
After a busy winter of planning and preparation, Carnival Week arrived in style. A particular highlight was our inaugural Race Night at the Royal British Legion – a resounding success that has already earned its place as a regular feature on our calendar.
Carnival Day itself exceeded expectations, drawing record attendance and providing a welcome boost for local businesses. The shift in the Folk Festival date may well have contributed to this and it is something the committee should consider carefully when planning future events.
Like many organisations, we continue to face rising costs. However, the loyalty of our sponsors has enabled us to maintain the high standards of entertainment our community has come to expect. One area to be addressed, is the steady decline in procession entries over the past five years. This winter we will look at fresh ideas and strategies to reinvigorate and promote participation.
Other changes have proved very successful this year. Replacing a costly main arena act with performances from local groups was an inspired choice, giving a platform to home-grown talent while strengthening community spirit. Our Pub quizzes were once again extremely popular, helped by stronger administrative processes and the fun run attracted consistent numbers despite clashes with other local events.
Looking to the future, I am especially encouraged by the progress of our youth engagement work and the Carnival Champion initiative. These projects are beginning to get traction with exciting partnerships developing with Lockyer’s School and other youth groups. These young people represent the future of the Carnival and I am confident they will help us to explore new and exciting opportunities in the years ahead.
None of this would be possible without the dedication and hard work of the committee and my heartfelt thanks go to each and every one of you.
To the wider community and our local businesses, your continued support is at the core of the Carnival and we could not do it without you.
Thank you all for being part of another remarkable year. Together, we continue to make the Corfe Mullen Carnival a true celebration of our community.
David Mills - Corfe Mullen Carnival Chairman
Corfe Mullen Carnival Committee would like to say a massive “Thank You” to everyone who has donated prizes this year
BH Live
Richards Estate Agents
Swanage Railway
Bovington Tank Museum
Farmer Palmers
Forum Jewellers
Bournemouth Aviation Museum
Abbotsbury Swannery
Tesco Fleetsbridge
Museum of East Dorset
The Junction Broadstone
Good Vibrations Broadstone
TA Oven Cleaning
JD Sports Massage
Oriel on the Quay
Co-Op Funeral Care
Tivoli Theatre
Corfe Classic Catering
Pizza with Love
Feline Friends
Sharan Noteha, Manicurist and Beautician
And all the supporters of the Carnival who have donated, wine, chocolates, toiletries and unwanted gifts
After careful consideration and research, we are thrilled to introduce a new Youth Engagement and Representative Programme for the Corfe Mullen Carnival. While we remain mindful of tradition, we also want to ensure that the Carnival evolves to be inclusive, relevant, and engaging for all.
As part of this positive change, we will be retiring the traditional Prince and Princess selection and replacing it with a f new initiative that encourages greater youth involvement in organising and running Corfe Mullen Carnival events. This will include:
- Carnival Champions (ages 14-18) – Taking an active role in planning and leading events.
- Junior Champions (ages 9-13) – Supporting activities and getting involved behind the scenes.
- Carnival Young Supporters (ages 5-8) – A fun and engaging way for our youngest members of our community to be part of the celebrations.
Over the coming months, we will collaborate closely with schools and various youth organisations to establish partnerships that will enable us to develop and promote innovative methods for engaging young people in organising Carnival events. By involving youth in the planning and execution of these activities, we aim to foster a sense of ownership and inclusivity, ensuring the Carnival remains relevant for all participants now and in the future.
For more details and links to application forms, please follow this link...
If you have any questions or ideas you would like to share with us regarding our new youth engagement programme, please email
David Mills
Chair Corfe Mullen Carnival
With carnival having grown in size so much over the last couple of decades, our small committee are always looking for help. With that in mind, we are gathering names for a Volunteer Register. We have a long list of jobs that YOU could help us with, ‘lightening the load’ and deliver another successful event this year. This could be helping with the street parade, setting up in the morning of carnival day or clearing up at the end, plus numerous other jobs. If you’d like to help us, please make contact via our contact form or email us at
The Corfe Mullen Carnival has new beneficiaries for 2025! We are proud to announce support for Lewis-Manning Hospice Care, The Friends of Springdale School, Millstream Theatre, and a further defibrillator for Corfe Mullen. Please follow the link to our Who We Support page for more details.
It is with a great deal of pride that I reflect on the success of the 2024 Corfe Mullen Carnival. Once again, this year's events were a resounding success, thanks to the fantastic support of our local community. The spirit of Corfe Mullen was clear, with every event strongly supported and I personally received extremely positive feedback from our sponsors and most importantly members of the community following the conclusion of our events; commending the committee and our helpers on a job very well done.
Our dedication to health and safety has always been paramount, and I am pleased to report that every event was delivered safely and responsibly. This is a testament to our Committee’s commitment to ensuring a secure, safe and enjoyable experience is provided for all.
Early in the year we faced some unexpected challenges, but I was very proud of how the Committee responded. Through sheer determination, hard work, and outstanding collaboration, we were able to overcome these hurdles without allowing any event to be affected.
It is this collective effort and "can-do" attitude that makes being Chair of the Carnival Committee a real honour and every year, I am impressed by what we can achieve together for our community.
One of the pillars of our success has been our ongoing commitment to promoting inclusion, wellbeing and participation. Our events are designed to engage people of all ages and backgrounds, ensuring that everyone in Corfe Mullen feels welcome to be part of the celebrations. The involvement this year of Lockyer’s school generated significant increased awareness amongst the students of the Carnival and our objectives, which I am sure will contribute to the longevity of the Carnival.
This year’s Carnival would not have been possible without the overwhelming support of our Sponsors, whose generosity allows us to stage the event for the community. I am delighted to announce that, thanks to this support and the revenue generated by our various fund-raising activities, we will be donating £9,776.00 to a range of deserving charitable organisations within our local area. To make these financial awards we also used some of the Carnival reserves to bolster the value of the amount being donated. This was a carefully considered approach to address in a small way the extreme financial challenges faced by many Charitable organisations but one that the Committee will need to consider carefully in future years and should not be seen as setting a precedent.
Finaly I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to every member of the Committee. Their hard work, commitment, and enthusiasm were the driving forces behind this year’s success, and I look forward to another year of us working together to support our community.
David Mills - Corfe Mullen Carnival Chairman
