Feedback 2011

Here are some of the comments people have made about the 2011 Carnival. They have said some complementary things about the event and also made some suggestions about how we can make next year even better!

• I had a fab time at carnival, so well done to all the organisers.
• I thought it was brilliant!
• Pickwick Park was a very lively scene and very good.
• Can we have the theme for next year as Balsall Heath in Bloom?
• The loud music was rather disabling if you were positioned near.
• Thank you for organising such a fantastic event! We raised over £300 for the Aghosh Orphan Care home and had an absolutely brilliant day doing it.

• In 1976, 35 years ago, Balsall Heath held its first Carnival in living memory on a derelict patch of land. It was attended by just 200 people and lasted for 2 hours. There were 6 stalls and a tug of war between 4 pubs. A police riot van was parked round the corner to deal with expected trouble from delinquent youths. This year, 35 years later, on July 2nd the organisers of the 35th Carnival started work at 6:00am and finished at 7:00pm on Pickwick Park. Some 3,500 people attended, ¼ of the neighbourhood’s population. There were 100 stalls and a feast of entertainment. The police were not in a riot van but mingled with the peaceful, happy crowd. The Neighbourhood Forum sold hundreds of flowers and plants for residents gardens. Joe Holyoak conducted the start of a year-long ‘Planning for Real Exercise’ designed to emerge a plan for the future development of Balsall Heath. It may have taken 35 years, but Balsall Heath is now alive, well and able to act as the village which every child needs to enter into adult maturity.
Dick Atkinson, Balsall Heath Forum