CARNIVAL season kicked off in Somerset on Saturday night (September 30) with the first of the year held in Wellington, the town’s 75th annual procession.

An estimated 8,000 people lined the route from Rockwell Green over Hilly Head and through Mantle Street and the town centre to the Cades housing estate on the other side of Wellington.

They saw a procession of 60 entries taking more than an hour to pass by which ranged from individual walking entrants such as Ben the Walking Penguin through groups including Beech Grove School and Wellington Majorettes to the giant spectacle of colour and sound that was the Nunsford Nutters Carnival Club float ‘Plucking’, from Colyton, Devon, which a week earlier won its class in the Sidmouth carnival.

The procession also featured Wellington centenarian Madge Covey riding in a 100-year-old Sunbeam car which was first sold in Wellington a century ago in 1923 and which was brought back to the town this year by enthusiast Ralph Sanders.

An ear-crunching motorcycle cavalcade preceded the procession, which was led by Wellington Mayor Cllr Marcus Barr and town crier Andew Norris, who walked the length of the route.

The event was watched by visitors from Wellington’s twin town in Portugal, Torres Vedras, who were hosted by the families of Wellington Majorettes.

Cllr Barr will in turn visit the Torres Vedras carnival at the end of the month after town councillors took up an invitation to be represented by their mayor.

Even some heavy drizzle during the evening failed to dampen the spirits of the thousands of Wellington families and those from surrounding communities who travelled to see the spectacle.

There was a 20-minute hold-up after the procession reached the town centre when the first of the large carts, Rubalo Juvenile Carnival Club’s ‘Buffalo Creek’ – an entry full of children of carnival families - broke down near Priory, but it was eventually able to carry on.

Other large floats in the procession included Ilminster’s Gemini Carnival Club with ‘Noah’, Harlequin’s ‘Just Another Day in Hollywood’, also from Ilminster, Somerset-based ZEM entry ‘Long Zhi Hun’, and One Plus One’s ‘Eyes Down Shake Your Balls’.

An awards presentation took place afterwards in Wellington Conservative Club with trophies won by:

Feature

Winner, Harlequin; runner-up Gemini.

Comic

Winner, Nunsford Nutters; runner-up One Plus One.

Youth

Winner, Rubalo; runner-up Levels Theatre Group.

Open

Winner ZEM; runner-up Generations; third place Unicorn.

Walking Adult

Winner, Tizzy’s; runner-up Jacks; third place Spirit.

Walking Juvenile

Winner, Flynn Newbury.

Walking Pairs

Winner, Rich and Rio Welch.

Walking Groups

Winner, Wellington Pantomime Society.

Open Walking

Winner, A&A; runner-up Bubbles; third place Torre.

Trade

Winner Devon Truck No 23; runner-up Devon Truck No 25; third plae Frost Rescue.

Non-federation Majorettes

Winner Merriot Majorettes; runner-up Chard Evolution.

Non-federation youth walking

Winner, Wellington School.

Special awards

Best costumed float Harlequin CC; best dressed tractor driver Rubalo; best Wellington entry Wellington Pantomime Society; best use of makeup on float Harlequin; best children’s entry Rubalo; chairman’s choice Nunsford Nutters.

Wellington Carnival Committee is also holding an online ‘people’s vote’ for the public to choose this year’s winners here.

Votes need to be cast by 11.59 pm on Wednesday (October 4).

The results will be added to those from Ilminster, Chard, and Taunton with the winners announced by the South Somerset Federation on Saturday, October 28.

Wellington Carnival traditionally takes place on the last Saturday in September and is the first in the South Somerset circuit which includes Ilminster, Chard, and Taunton.

Then, on November 4 the first of Somerset’s ‘B7’ (Big Seven) carnivals will be staged in Bridgwater, which boasts Europe’s largest free outdoor procession.

Six more of the ‘big’ carnivals will follow – Burnham on Sea, Weston super Mare, North Petherton, Shepton Mallett, Wells, and, finally, Glastonbury on November 18.

This year, Exeter will also hold a carnival on November 25 after the city’s procession was revived in 2022 for the first time in nearly a quarter-of-a-century.