Let's get the carnival on track (From Oxford Mail)

Let's get the carnival on track

6:20am Tuesday 9th March 2010 in

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OUT of the disappointment of last year, Oxford may be about to get the best of both worlds.

Organisers are progressing towards definitely having both a procession down Cowley Road and an event in South Park, including a ticketed music performance.

Last year’s scrapping of the carnival — which would have attracted about 30,000 people — was a major letdown, despite a replacement event being held in South Park.

The carnival was, to be blunt, irreplaceable. It is one of those events that makes the city stand out.

Whatever the rights or wrongs or difficulties in cancelling the carnival, Cowley Road, East Oxford and the county was poorer for the loss.

Cowley Road Works, the charity organising this year’s planned double-header, is certainly ambitious.

Its full budget will be £150,000 but so far there is little of that actually in the bank. The largest chunk of funding is, we trust, to be approved by the Arts Council in April.

We hope Cowley Road Works is successful because the event in the park did draw a different crowd.

But the focus must remain on getting the carnival back on the road, both figuratively and physically.