IW Mardi Gras 2023
Year of the Coast
The theme of the event was ‘Year of the Coast’, highlighting the island’s UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Our unique land and seascapes, coastal heritage and history, local stories and people, and of course tourism were all featured as important facets of Isle of Wight culture
Seventeen schools took part in Mardi Gras, hosting Carnival Clubs through Summer Term to prepare for the event
Each school group chose a sub-theme (marine life, days at the beach, responsible fishing, etc) relevant to Isle of Wight culture and created costumes, flags, and artwork which was showcased in the parade
In addition to school groups, seven local community groups of musicians, dancers and artists also took part in the event
IW Mardi Gras 2022
Our World Our Future
On Saturday 9th July the Mardi Gras took place in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Over 20 school and community groups took part, with around 1000 participants, the majority of whom were children and young people from the island. The streets of the town were packed with people excited to see the return of this much-loved New Carnival event.
The theme this year was ‘Our World Our Future’ with each group representing one of the 17 different UN Sustainability Development Goals from ‘stop climate change’, ‘save wildlife’, to ‘responsible tourism’ and ‘respect and tolerance’. All the groups learnt about their topic before designing and making their costumes, practising dances, and learning this year’s song.
IW Mardi Gras 2019
Biosphere Island
In 2019 we chose the theme ‘Biosphere Island’ and celebrated the many fantastic things about our Island that were reasons for the Island to be awarded Biosphere status. For this parade we had 33 schools and community groups take part. Each school or group worked under headings including Historic Environment, Food and Farming and Dark Skies. These were partnered by a local organisation connected to the Biosphere bid. Partners included IW Zoo, the Archaeology Discovery Centre, Hampshire and IW Wildlife Trust, Dinosaur Isle and Briddlesford Farm, who offered expertise and a field trip during the research process to provide information and to help inspire costume ideas. More than 1,000 participants took to the streets of Ryde.
The local Biosphere Island theme was chosen in support of the IW Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’s (AONB)- now National Landscape bid for the Isle of Wight to become a UNESCO Biosphere reserve. It was announced just before the parade took place that the bid was successful.
