Waterloo Carnival
The next carnival is in planning and will take place in 2025 to mark
The 20th year Anniversary !
Get involved now and contact the community carnival team on waterloocarnival@gmail.com
Watch this space for more information!
A celebration of waterloo
The Waterloo Carnival is a celebration of our community: our unity and diversity, history and future. The initial Waterloo Carnival organized by our collaborative group was held in 2002, and it has always drawn the support of local people and businesses. Waterloo has a proud history of the arts; it is the birthplace of the circus and a stroll down the river's edge will be serenaded by musicians and performers of every variety. It is as a tribute to all these things that The Waterloo Carnival dances each year.
community together
For young, for old
Absolutely everyone is able, and encouraged, to participate in our carnival. We have participants from 0-100, and engage local residents through local schools, community groups, theatre, dance, art and music groups. This may be through making, designing, building, stewarding and preparing, as well as performing. Workshops based around all elements of carnival are run by professional artists, and delivered through our partner community groups and art organisations, so there are plenty of ways to get involved in the carnival programme.
The opportunity to participate is open to all - we just require that you have participated in one of our workshops and are signed up to attend, and let the leader know if you require any additional support.
process through our heart
Here in Waterloo we have the highest calibre arts and culture at our fingertips. The transient community of working professionals, and bustling tourist industry, can sometimes mask the presence of a long-standing local community. We want to ensure everyone who lives here is able to access the wealth of world-class arts on their doorstep, has opportunities to celebrate our global community, and takes pride in our local area.
“The Waterloo Carnival is a guaranteed highlight of the year. It is a rainbow celebration of our unique and eclectic community, proud history and internationalism.”
Be part of something special
Collaborators
The Waterloo Carnival is a celebration of our community, and we couldn’t do it without their support. We are fortunate to have so many amazing partners. To find out more about who they are, and how they help us, check out our Partners Page.
join our party in the park
… For our Carnival Finale, we love to gather the procession and audience together on the Waterloo Millennium Green, and have a good celebration together, led by some performers. In the past, this has featured everything from storytellers from Alice in Wonderful, African Dancers, Tweedledum & Tweedle Dee, physical theatre and acrobats.
partner with us
The Waterloo Carnival is a grassroots event, supported and sustained by local groups and businesses who offer their space, resources, time and energy to making this wonderful annual event happen. We rely on local sponsorship and partnerships to sustain the carnival. Now in our 15thyear, we are particularly seeking new sponsorship from local businesses to ensure we can keep this key local event sustained, and growing.
We are also on the look-out for new community groups of every type that would like to participate, as well as high quality local artists who could help us provide inclusive, creative workshops for our participants.
We are grateful for the support of our partners
Carnival Gallery
Get in touch