CARNIVAL organisers are gearing up to bring a week of fun to Southend ahead of the iconic parade later this month.

Southend Carnival has maintained a significant presence in the town since its inception in 1906, and now welcomes more than 20,000 people to its parade, as well as thousands more to its associated events.

As well as the parade, this year’s programme will also include a three-day beer festival, open dog show, and free family fun day.

Chairman Garry Lowen said: “We have been planning for this year’s carnival since October, and are really looking forward to welcoming all our participants and supporters to the events.

“It’s a huge team effort, and this year is shaping up to be one of our best yet with a very busy week of events lines up.”

The carnival will launch with a beer festival from Friday, August 10 to Sunday, August 12 at West Leigh School, raising funds towards the carnival itself and offering a range of south Essex breweries the opportunity to share their products with the community.

On the Sunday, there will also be a host of fun activities for children to get involved with, so parents can enjoy a drink in the sunshine too.

On Sunday, August 12 there will be a dog show held at Priory Park, Southend, from 11am, run in conjunction with the Southend Canine Society and Metro Bank.

It is open to all dogs, from pedigree show pooches to family pets.

The fun continues on Wednesday, August 15 with children’s day held in Priory Park, featuring inflatables, face painting, children’s sports activities and fun play-workshop events, as well as a fancy dress competition.

Southend Carnival’s procession will take place on Saturday, August 18, starting at 6.45pm at Southchurch Park with the procession all along the seafront to Shorefield Road at approximately 9pm, passing City Beach at 7.30pm.

Visitors are advised to travel to the event via train for the procession to avoid traffic and parking problems.

The carnival procession, which costs about £18,000 to run each year, is supported by sponsorship from a number of huge brands including rail operators c2c and Greater Anglia, the Gleneagles Guesthouse, and Olympus.

Mr Lowen said: “Without the generous contributions from our sponsors and the ongoing support of the Southend community we would not be able to run Southend Carnival at anywhere near the scale we do now.

“I’m very proud to be able to run the carnival and reach out to so many people from across the borough - the event has a huge place in the hearts of both residents and visitors and as long as we’re able to bring some fun and laughter to the seafront we will do so.”

The carnival supports a large number of charitable organisations with each of the sixty floats in the procession collecting.

Mr Lowen said: “We have run with this approach for the past four years and it has been a huge success - organisations really want to get involved and they go all out with decorations to see who can attract the most donations.

"It’s a great way for them to bring their own teams together, and in turn creates a wonderful community atmosphere.”