Welcome to the Corfe Mullen Carnival website which we hope will give you all the information you require to maximise your enjoyment of the 2020 Carnival events.

Corfe Mullen is a Dorset hilltop village located close to the A31, 2 miles South of Wimborne and 3 miles North of Poole.

The principal objective of the Carnival is to provide the local community with the opportunity to participate in and enjoy a week of events held within the village.

The attractions are carefully selected to ensure that the Carnival provides something for all ages at an affordable price, making the event a great venue for all of the family.

Carnival 2019 flowered in the rain!

Despite weather that was less than favourable, Carnival 2019 continued the trend and showed growth in many areas. The Carnival Procession was the largest in many years (possibly the biggest ever), with 29 entries and involving nearly 600 children.  An untimely cloud-burst dampened many costumes, but had little effect on the carnival spirit!

At the Events Ground on the Rec., strong winds meant that the popular Climbing Wall and the Longdown Children's Farm were missing from the activities available, but nearly 80 vendors and organisations were present, with around 18% increase in revenue.  For the first time, this year featured a 2nd arena, where the Staffie and Stray Rescue charity held a Fun Dog Show.  We also welcomed Wimborne District Society of Model Engineers with their 5-inch gauge railway providing rides for children - and we hope to see them again in future years.  A successful addition to the event this year was the Carnival Tea Tent, with tea and cakes baked by volunteers from ingredients donated by Waitrose - this will certainly be a feature of future Carnivals!

The Fun Run entry revenue was up this year, with a total entry of 344, including a 50% increase in the Children's entry at 127.

Loss of income from the Fun Day - held at the Holme Bush on the Sunday before Carnival Day, and a victim of bad weather - was more than offset by increased income from the Pub Quiz.  This year, additional quizzes were held at Christmas and Easter, while the Carnival Week quiz was so well attended that it was held simultaneously at The Dorset Soldier and Holme Bush Inn.

Sponsorship remains a key part of our Carnival strategy and continues to demonstrate that local businesses recognise the importance of this event to the community. This year, over 30 companies provided financial or material support to the Carnival.  Their funding allows us to subsidise many of the Carnival Day activities to reduce prices and make the event as affordable as possible for everyone, particularly for families.

This year, the Carnival was able to distribute over £8,000 to local good causes, and also provided an opportunity for those causes to raise even more themselves.

Looking Forward to Carnival 2020

Just because Carnival 2019 is over, doesn't mean nothing's going on... we are already busy booking activities and stalls for Carnival Day, working out how to make events run smoothly at the Rec. and in the Procession, and much more as well!

Look out for our Christmas Quiz in December 2019 as fore-runner to the Carnival events in the summer of 2020.

The local Charities and Community Organisations selected to receive funding from Corfe Mullen Carnival 2020 can be seen here.

Looking ahead, your nominations for organisations to be considered to receive our support in 2020 are welcome: applications should be received before 1st September 2019.  The only mandatory requirement is that the services provided by the organisation should have the potential to benefit residents of Corfe Mullen.

I do hope that you will enjoy browsing our website and most importantly that you will join us on the 13th June 2020 to take part in and enjoy the various events detailed on the following pages.

David Mills

Corfe Mullen Carnival Chairman