A TWO-MINUTE silence will be held ahead of Wellington Carnival in tribute to Josephine Chave - a community stalwart who has been involved with the event for decades.

The silence will be observed ahead of the start of the procession at the assembly line up in Rockwell Green, with fireworks being set-off either side at 7pm and 7.02pm.

Mrs Chave, who was known as ‘Mrs Carnival’ and sadly passed away earlier this year, was its committee chairman for 30 years but was involved with the event for much longer than that.

Hundreds of people will be gearing up to attend the carnival and a weekend of celebrations, which include the town’s motor show taking place for a second year running. Around 50 vehicles will be showcased from 10am until 3pm in the Wellington Conservative Club Car Park on Saturday (September 28).

The late Josephine Chave, known in Wellington as 'Mrs Carnival'.
The late Josephine Chave, known in Wellington as 'Mrs Carnival'. PHOTO: Family. ( )

The carnival procession will then leave Rockwell Green at 7.30pm and the evening will be concluded with the Wellington Carnival Official After Party at the Conservative Club.

The origins of Wellington Carnival can be traced back to 1887 with celebrations for Guy Fawkes Night, according to the Wellington Carnival website.

The event occurred sporadically and in a multitude of forms from the late 19th century until the end of the 20th century, when the town band took charge of running and organising the carnival in 1960.

More recently, due to Covid restrictions the carnival was put-off until 2022 when it returned under a new committee chaired by Paul Goodyer. The 2023 carnival went down as a success with a huge increase in entries.

People are being reminded of road closures which will be in place:

  • The stretch of road from Perry Elm roundabout to the junction of Bagley Road by The Pet Supplies Shop will have a one-way system running in that direction from 2pm until 6pm (from Perry Elm roundabout to Bagley Road), this will then turn into a complete Road closure from 6pm.
  • All roads feeding onto the main road through Wellington will have a road closure from 6.30pm until 11pm.
  • The road closure finishes at Longforth Farm roundabout.