WELLINGTON Majorettes have returned from a five-day carnival exchange trip to the twin town of Torres Vedras in Portugal.

The Portuguese town is well known for its carnival traditions and welcomes more than 500,000 people to its streets during the celebratory event.

The small team of majorettes took part in five carnival parades, two museum visits and a trip to Lisbon, clocking up 65 miles of walking and marching over the weekend trip.

Each year, the festival’s organisers choose a theme for the carnival, and this year the chosen subject was the carnation revolution of April 25, 1974, when Portugal’s 48-year dictatorship came to an end. To honour the theme, the Majorettes dressed in army themed costumes bearing red carnations.

Majorette’s pictured above dressed in army themed costumes, bearing red carnations, to recognise the end of the 48-year dictatorship in Portugal, the theme for this year's carnival.
Majorettes pictured above dressed in army themed costumes, bearing red carnations, to recognise the end of the 48-year dictatorship in Portugal, the theme for this year's carnival. (Photo: Wellington Majorettes)
The Majorettes pictured with Mr & Mrs potato at CAC - Centro de Artes e Criatividade in Torres Vedras.
(Photo: Wellington Majorettes)
The team in Largo do Carmo, Lisbon, a historic square where the revolution came to an end.
The team in Largo do Carmo, Lisbon, a historic square where the revolution came to an end. (Photo: Wellington Majorettes)

Their first carnival was the children’s parade, followed by the arrival of the Carnival Royalty in the evening. This is when the Town Mayor, hands over the keys of the town to the Royalty and the party begins.

In between parades, the group visited Torres Vedras carnival museum, the centre for arts exhibitions, where Somerset Carnival Representative, Nigel Phillips’ Potato Heads now reside. They were shipped over to Torres Vedras and used for a few years, before retiring to the museum.

The last parade - Wellington Majorettes
The last parade (Wellington Majorettes)
The crowds enjoying the atmosphere, joining in the parade at Torres Vedras
The crowds enjoying the atmosphere, joining in the parade. (Photo: Wellington Majorettes)

The team also took a few hours away from carnival and visited the country’s capital, Lisbon. During the trip, they had a very informative visit to the GNR (national guards) museum located in the historic barracks in the Carmo Quarter, which they said gave them a better understanding of this year’s carnival theme.

The final carnival parade started at 10pm and the Wellington Majorettes mustered the energy to continue on until midnight to enjoy the buzzing atmosphere before their return home.