Look Back In Time: Chard and Ilminster carnival special

OCTOBER 7, 1987 THERE was almost literally a sea of carts as Ilminster’s annual carnival procession took to the streets, in pouring rain on Saturday.

A colourful array of umbrellas showed that spirits were not damped by Ilminster’s wettest carnival in 10 years.

Once again the judges gave the thumbs-up to Wellington’s champions, Springfield CC, Ilminster, when the club was awarded the Challenge Cup for the best overall entry, as well as trophies for the best local and best feature carts.

OCTOBER 14, 1987 CHEERING crowds packed the streets of Chard on Saturday night to watch the town’s carnival – despite the chilly weather and the threat of rain, which so nearly spoilt Ilminster’s carnival.

Ilminster’s Harlequin Carnival Club won the Grand Challenge Cup, beating their rivals Springfield CC, who won last year’s carnival and the Ilminster Grand Cup last week.

Harlequin also took the Bert Phippen Trophy which was awarded for the best costumes on a cart.

18 years ago OCTOBER 8, 1997 ILMINSTER’S Harlequin club maintained their cracking start to their 25th anniversary year by taking the top trophies in their home town carnival on Saturday.

New club Gemini, the result of Ilminster clubs Aldonvale and Springfield amalgamating, continued their good form by coming second in both the feature and local classes with Vegas.

An estimated crowd of over 20,000 packed the pavements through Ilminster town centre to watch the spectacular display of music, light and colour.

OCTOBER 15, 1997 THE all conquering Harlequin carnival club triumphed at Chard on Saturday with their superb cart Firecracker picking up five major awards.

The Ilminster Club, celebrating their 25th anniversary, took the award for best in procession as they did at Wellington and Ilminster, and now look set for another South Somerset Federation Championship.

As well as winning the overall challenge trophy, they won the feature class, the Chard and Ilminster News public choice plate, the cup for most colourful cart and the trophy for best lighting.

8 years ago OCTOBER 10, 2007 WARM weather brought lots of people out in force to watch Ilminster Carnival on Saturday night.

Thousands of people lined the streets to get a glimpse of the entries at the successful event, which seemed to go off without too much drama.

Carnival spokesman Jeremy Mitchell said the event was a brilliant success.

Mr Mitchell told The News: “It was absolutely fantastic. The weather was very kind to us and it brought out the crowds who supported the event so well.”

OCTOBER 17, 2007 ILMINSTER’S Harlequin CC romped away with SEVEN trophies at Chard Carnival on Saturday night – including the treasured Best in Procession.

Harlequin’s thrilling Disco Mania was one of the countless reasons why thousands of people missed England’s astonishing Rugby World Cup triumph – which was cruelly scheduled at the same time – to watch some home-grown heroes instead of the rugby.

The fine weather was also a huge factor in tempting most of the usual carnival-goers out on to the streets – and those that came weren’t disappointed.

1 YEAR AGO OCTOBER 8, 2014 THE razzmatazz of carnival brought bright lights, music and entertainment to the streets of Ilminster on Saturday.

Ilminster’s Gemini CC triumphed on the night, winning the Challenge Cup and best local cart for their Transformers entry.

Meanwhile fellow home favourites Harlequin CC scooped the Feature Class in their trophy haul.

OCTOBER 15, 2014 HARLEQUIN’S pirate-themed Tortuga stole the entire show at Chard Carnival with more dazzle and swashbuckle than you could shake a cutlass at.

The Ilminster club’s cart made for a timber-shivering sight as it headed up the procession, plundering four trophies.