WHARFEDALE people of all ages gambled on good weather as they came out to enjoy the fun at the fifteenth Ilkley Carnival.

The event on Bank Holiday Monday saw families flocking onto East Holmes Field to enjoy the funfair and carnival entertainment, and everyone from small children to pensioners lined the town centre streets to watch the colourful parade.

Crowds donned their waterproofs and took to the streets on The Grove and Brook Street to watch out for the carnival parade as it made its way from Grove Road to East Holmes Field at 12.45pm.

Some residents even took to balconies on New Brook Street to get a better view of the spectacle.

The Ilkley town crier came into view first, leading the parade around the corner from Grove Road onto The Grove, followed closely by the City of Leeds Pipe Band.

This year's chosen theme of 'Our Environment' produced some thoughtful entries in the carnival parade - which is thought to be one of the longest to turn out at Ilkley Carnival.

Ben Rhydding Primary School, which won the prize for the best walking tableau in the parade, chose to heighten awareness of the ongoing campaign to slow down motorists in the town.

Children wore reflective clothing, to promote road safety, and greener ways to get to school, including a cardboard representation of a yellow school bus.

They carried their own 30 miles per hour road signs, and were accompanied by school crossing patrol wardens.

Some of the Ilkley schools campaigned for the preservation of Wharfedale's own environment.

Pupils from All Saints School dressed up as the bluebells which shoot up in the woodland around the town in the spring, and some of the rabbits and other wild animals seen in the area.

The conservation of bluebell woodland also proved popular for Westville House School pupils.

Ashlands School, led by a lively samba band, represented the many and various forms of noise pollution, including loud music and roadworks machinery, and carried a banner declaring 'No to Noise'.

Ilkley Grammar School's walking display focused on the impact of flooding in Wharfedale, and the walkers carried placards explaining what causes the flooding.

Marine pollution was the concern of Clevedon House School. Children at the head of their walking display dressed as colourful sea creatures, ahead of a cardboard boat complete with fishermen characters.

All the sea creature costumes following the boat wore black, representing the ecological damage caused by an oil spill.

The Ilkley Gazette continued the ecologically-friendly message with a float encouraging residents to keep the town tidy.

Bradford Bulls cheerleaders, the Bradford Bullettes, also walked in the parade, as well as stilt walkers, and members of the Company of Horsemen dressed as cowboys.

Ilkley Soroptimists depicted countryside activities including angling and birdwatching on their float, which won the prize in the best non-commercial class.

Booths supermarket, which also supplied a horse-drawn van for the parade, won the prize for best commercial float.

More musical entertainment accompanied the parade with the Huddersfield Youth Brass Ensemble.

The spotlight then moved to East Holmes Field, where the rain set in just in time for the civic dignitaries - including Lord Mayor of Bradford, Richard Wightman - to take to the carnival field with umbrellas for the presentation of prizes.

This year's acts in the arena did not disappoint visitors.

Stars of the show were the talented riders of the Company of Horsemen and their highly-trained horses, who performed trick riding and daring stunts at full gallop in their Wild West themed display.

More talented members of the animal kingdom provided entertainment as the Cheshire Dog Display Team demonstrated obedience training and dog agility in the main arena.

Youngsters crowded to watch Spider-man walk and ride a bicycle on a tightrope, keeping perfect balance despite the strong winds, and much hilarity was to be had at the inflatable 'Sumo wrestlers'.

Volunteers from Keighley and Skipton donned the huge inflatables and did battle for the honour of their towns, while American Todd Cody provided a dramatic wrestling commentary.

Ben Rhydding Primary also claimed another first prize at the carnival, when the boys and girls of the school's five-a-side football team showed skill to win the final of the Jeffrey Martin Memorial Five-a-Side Football Final.They retained the title they won in 2002.

The young footballers were presented with their trophy by members of the victorious Bradford Bulls team who took the Rugby League Challenge Cup recently - and they brought the cup with them.

Skipper Robbie Paul, Jamie Peacock, Lesley Vainikolo and Joe Vagana were there to congratulate the youngsters on their trophy success.

The Bulls' mascot, Bullman, put in an appearance, and cheerleader team the Bullettes helped out and performed a dance routine with the 'Blues Brothers'.

The Bullettes offered to perform an extra routine after the Yorkshire Air Ambulance helicopter pulled out of the carnival earlier this year.

Holders keep

their crown

after soccer

tournament

THE winners of the Rugby League Challenge Cup met up with some young footballing champions at Ilkley Carnival.

Bradford Bulls stars Robbie Paul, Lesley Vainikolo, Joe Vagana and Jamie Peacock presented the winners of the second annual Jeffrey Martin Memorial Five-a-Side Football tournament with a trophy - and brought along the glittering Challenge Cup to show off to Ilkley people.

Heats of the five-a-side football tournament, which is held in memory of a long-time Ilkley Carn-ival Committee member and keen sportsman, took place between local schools prior to the carnival.

The battling final took place on the Ilkley Carnival field on Monday, and saw skillful boys and girls from Ben Rhydding Primary School beat Burley and Woodhead Primary School to win the competition for the second successive year..

Members of the winning team and the runners-up were presented with medals by the Bradford Bulls.

Right: The jubilant Ben Rhydding team, blue shirts, and the defeated Burley and Woodhead team pictured with Bulls stars jamie Peacock, Robbie Paul, Joe vagana and Lesley Vainikolo (IG19P7A)

Organisers delighted with

the biggest ever parade

ORGANISERS are declaring the 2003 Ilkley Carnival yet another success, despite unsettled weather and rising insurance costs.

Thousands of people from Ilkley and further afield came prepared with both sunglasses and waterproof clothing to see the parade, and up to an estimated 17,000 went on to enjoy the attractions on East Holmes Field.

Chairman of the carnival committee, Andrew Munro, said: "We were very pleased with the day as a whole, very pleased indeed. I think the shower in the morning may have put off a few people in the crowd for the parade. It seemed a little bit down on previous years."

If the crowd was smaller than expected, the parade participants turned out in greater numbers this year.

"It was probably the longest parade we've done and one of the best ones. There were ten schools and four bands in it, and it was very good indeed," said Mr Munro.

"The parade was brilliant. I'm completely astounded by the originality and the quality of the entries for the parade. It really is an integral part of the carnival day, and it is tremendous.

"Great credit goes to all the organisations and the schools in particular, who did such a good job, and the parents and teachers who did so much. It's something a lot of people look forward to, I know I certainly do."

The success of the parade carried on at the carnival field.

Mr Munro said: "I think the crowd on the field was excellent. There didn't seem to be quite a big a rush at first this year, but they began to pack in as the day went on, when the rain cleared up.

" I think that we we're probably slightly up on last year, with perhaps 16,000-17,000 on the field. It's very difficult to be precise, or even very close at all, but we were pleased."

As there was no parachute team or helicopter in this year's events programme, the organisers were able to improve viewing.

"We had a smaller arena this year, so everyone could see the acts, and Bradford Bulls provided the compere. We were trying this year to improve the quality of the acts.

"We live and learn each year. There's always ways we can tweak it and make it better, and get more efficient," said Mr Munro.

Visitors said they enjoyed the event, and although numbers thinned quickly later in the afternoon, crowds turned up to enjoy the stalls, sideshows, fairground rides and the main acts in the arena.

Dave Munro, of Athelstan Lane, Otley, who visited the carnival with his children, said: "I thought it was very good in the arena. I thought all the events were great. I've been here four or five times, and the day was very nice."

He said his only complaint would be that some of the sideshows and fairground rides were expensive for children.

Burley-in-Wharfedale resident Karen Wood visited the carnival with her mother and her young baby, and also enjoyed the entertainment on offer. She said: "It's been good fun. I like all of it, really, everything on in the arena."

She said she would return to the carnival in future.

Mr Munro has been chairman of the committee for around three years now, and is the only remaining founder carnival committee member involved with today's event.

The hardworking committee now have up to a month's rest before they begin working towards next year's carnival - although they will also be counting the money collected this year, and distributing it to local organisations.

Money was raised by selling carnival tickets, plots on the carnival field for stalls, and from the companies which sponsored the carnival.

The 2003 Ilkley Carnival beneficiaries include Ashlands Primary School, Otley and District Riding for the Disabled Association, Addingham Rec Play Scheme, The Music Group, and local sports clubs.

Mr Munro says that although the crowd may have been bigger this year, the costs - including rising price of insurance for the event - will lead to a smaller payout than last year.

"We've had a triple rise in our insurance premium, unfortunately, which means that our goal is to reach a payout of £10,000," said Mr Munro.

"That's been hit by this increase in the insurance premium, so our payout will not exceed last year's."

However, the organisers stayed in line with their own environmentally-friendly message by getting the carnival field speedily cleaned up at the end of the event.

Mr Munro said litter pickers were in action all day, with help from Burley Scouts, and any stray rubbish was cleared up by 7pm on Monday evening.

l Ilkley Carnival Committee will hand over money made at the event to the beneficiaries at a presentation evening in the coming months.