Ilkley Carnival 2024: Thousands turn out for the parade

This year, it had a theme of Mardi Gras.

It was the town's biggest parade, with primary schools from Addingham, Burley, and Askwith taking part for the first time.

Rombalds Giant created by Ashlands Primary School (Image: submitted)

Andrew Stacey, chair of Ilkley Carnival,  said: "The parade was spectacular.

"It was the largest ever and it was great to welcome Burley Oaks, Addingham, and Askwith schools to the regular Ilkley-based schools and groups.

"The best in parade winners, Ashlands Primary School, were exceptional and fully deserved their title.

"It is humbling to see the whole town turn out and line the streets for the parade each year and it must be a wonderful experience for the children participating.

Ben Rhydding Primary School (Image: submitted)

"On the carnival showground the entertainment was top class. The headline act, Defying Gravity, were certainly one of the most engaging we have ever had and were supported by some amazing local talent.

"There is no event in Ilkley that brings our community together like Ilkley Carnival does.

"We are proud to say the event is run by the community for the community.

"The hard-working committee are all amateurs, mostly with full time jobs and lives to fit in around the carnival.

"As the carnival continues to grow into an event that is now attracting regional appeal so does the time and pressure constraints.

"We could not do this without the community rallying around us and making Ilkley Carnival one of the top attractions every May Day.

Addingham Primary School (Image: submitted)

"We had almost 300 volunteers assisting us with what is now a three-day set-up and take-down plus duties on the day such as staffing gates and traffic marshalling.

"Without this community involvement there would be no Ilkley Carnival.

"A couple of special mentions. We had Charlotte Hatch who not only performed as part of the talented ‘The Lost Embers’ in the SORM acoustic marquee on Monday afternoon but was on site earlier that day at 6.30am for a few hours helping to finalise the site set-up.

"Similarly, Nic and the amazing Ilkley Gym Club assisted all weekend and still had the energy to perform in the Ilkley BID/Discover Ilkley main arena."

Mr Stacey added: "I’d like to say a huge thank you once again to this year’s main sponsors Ilkley BID, Bradford Grammar School for providing sponsorship for the fifth year and our new sponsors for 2024, SD Property Group.

"So finally, a big thank you to all who made Ilkley Carnival so amazing this year and we’ll see you again on 5 May 2025 for an even bigger one."