Carnival of the Baubles

Carnival of the Baubles making its return to kick off the festive period.

On Saturday, 22 November, Ashford Town Centre will host the return of the Carnival of the Baubles. Thousands of attendees are expected to gather along the pavements as the event commences the festive season and illuminates the town centre with an impressive giant lantern parade.

As last year’s Carnival was sadly disrupted by Storm Bert, we will be pulling out all the stops to make this year’s even more special. This year the parade route has been reversed, with the procession commencing from the Lower High Street and concluding with a grand finale outside The Ashford Cinema at Elwick Place.

A giant Firebird, who sprays sparks from its beak, will lead this year’s parade, guiding schools, community groups, and local businesses through Ashford Town Centre.

The theme of the parade is "Ashford – The Place That Makes Us." Emergency Exit Arts, renowned for their impressive work at events such as Glastonbury and The Lord Mayor's Show in London, are collaborating with Made In Ashford to lead the creative process. Preparations for this year's lantern builds are already in progress, and we can’t wait to see what they have in store!

Free lantern making workshops will be held at the pop-up Bauble Maker Space in County Square (where you can preview this year’s lanterns) on the following dates:

• Saturday 1 November
• Saturday 8 November
• Saturday 15 November