Tenby Retained Firefighters Carnival will be bursting into life in the town on Wednesday, August 2.

Main sponsor of the ever-popular event is Tenby House Hotel, with sponsorship also from Tredeml Print Design Studio and Printers, Jago, Qube, CK Roofing and The Normandie.

The carnival always has a special place in the resort’s calendar and never fails to capture the imagination of the crowds that line the route of the procession or the numerous floats and fancy dress competitors taking part. And this year promises to be no exception.

Once again, the main recipient of the money raised by Tenby’s dedicated band of retained firefighters during the course of the day will be the Firefighters Charity.

The spectacular carnival will undoubtedly be the highlight of a fun-packed day of events for all the family to enjoy.

Festivities kick-off at the fire station in South Parade from 10.30 am. Bacon rolls will be served in the morning and burgers, teas, coffees and cake throughout the day. This year’s prize draw boasts another excellent selection of prizes, including a mid-week-weekend break at Lydstep Haven and an Amazon kindle. Firefighters are still collecting prizes, and any donations will be warmly welcome.

There will be an opportunity to meet special guest, Fireman Sam, as well as a kids fun day.

In addition, there will also be a chip pan fire demonstration unit in attendance giving home safety demonstrations and advice, plus the fire bike, Bloodbike Wales and police bike - dependent on duties.

Also during the day there will be a road traffic accident display, when members of the crew will demonstrate how they extricate a casualty from a car involved in an accident.

There will also be a demonstration and crowd participation on CPR and use of a defibrillator.

And what’s more, the event also gives people the opportunity to have a look around the station and meet their local fire crew. There will even be a four-legged crew member Celt, an urban search and rescue dog, attending.

In Tudor Square meanwhile, there will be a ‘play’ fire engine from 11 am onwards.

“This year’s firefighters carnival is showing signs of being a big a spectacle as last year’s with another high number of floats expected,” said carnival chairman Rhys Thomas.

“I continue to be astounded by the amount of support from local businesses. It just shows how much the town loves this event.”

Sponsors Tenby House also hold their annual charity night on the same evening as the carnival, an event where you can relax and enjoy after a great day.

Following time-honoured tradition, the carnival parade will be held in the early evening, with floats and walking entries being asked to meet at the Railway Station Yard, ready for the parade which will start at 5.15 pm.

Anyone and everyone is welcome to enter the carnival and no advance entry is required. Participants must just ensure they are at the station yard between 4.30 and 4.45 pm for the all-important judging.

Leaving from the station, the parade will proceed via Warren Street, South Parade, Belmont Arch, Lower Frog Street, St. George Street, Tudor Square, and St. Julian Street, before finishing at the harbour.

There are carnival classes for under threes, sevens, 11s and adult, with all categories having a £20 first prize, £15 second prize and £10 third prize.

In addition, each child entering the carnival will receive a gift.

The lorry-borne entries, meanwhile, will all be competing for the lucrative £100 prize money for the best decorated float. Second prize is £75 and third is £50.

Also up for grabs is the Marjorie and Bert Ford Perpetual Trophy, plus £50, for the best charity float.

“Thanks from the Tenby fire crew also go to all those who have donated to our raffle and supported it,” added Rhys.

“We want everyone to have fun; safety is our first priority, so we are asking for those who are taking part as walkers and the crowd in general to be careful of the traffic and stand back from the floats.

“We are also trying to keep the water to a minimum again so are asking for people to be sensible in this respect.”

Carnival centenary appeal

Sir,

Please allow me to promote our intentions of interest to all the avid locals who have supported the Firefighters Carnival for many a year in Tenby. It’s nearly upon us again and we are appealing to all and everyone from locals to retired fire service families and anyone who could help assist in this project.

It’s been decided as a station to commemorate an anniversary date of our longstanding and very popular carnival.

We are planning a countdown to a 100 years of carnivals leading up to 2019, of course this year being its 98th year. It’s hoped that by next year, with help from your readers, we will be able to produce a carnival times booklet, allowing us to sell to everyone and anyone who would be interested in purchasing once printed. Of course, all monies raised will continue to go to our Firefighters Charity.

So, my appeal is to find as many carnival photos of interest, information, any anecdotes or short stories related to previous carnivals over the past decade that could be added in. I’m hoping that there are many readers who can help with my research in this project as I would like to produce this booklet with lots of pictures and information leading up to the 2018 carnival.

I have, over months now, been spending time in the Observer office searching through the microfiche, already gathering lots of very interesting bits of information.

I’m hoping also to try and trace origins of the exact location of previous fire stations that I believe were situated along the parade area? So, if anyone could help, that would be very kind.

Please note, all I intend to do, if possible, is to copy any photos, pictures or information gathered and collate all this together. To then meet up with the local printers etc. and sift through what we have and decide on what’s best for the booklet. Anything submitted will be returned to its owner as soon as possible.

If sending anything to me, please could you include your name/address to ensure it’s returned to its rightful owners.

To contact me or anyone from Tenby Fire Station, e-mail me (Lee Simmons) at [email protected] or Rhys Thomas at [email protected], call 01792 705160 (Pembrokeshire County Command Haverfordwest) or (01834) 842222 Tenby Fire Station (Tuesday between 6 and 9 pm) or find us on Facebook …. Tenby Fire Station.

Lee Simmons,

Tenby Fire Station,

South Parade,

Tenby.