A carnival said to be the county’s oldest is set to parade through a historic village centre this weekend.
Pewsey Carnival’s central event, the Illuminated Procession, will take place on September 19.
In previous years, as many as 15,000 people have attended the carnival, despite the parish’s population recorded as being under 4,000.
This year, organisers say around 7,500 people could turn up.
The carnival features a month-long calendar of events that build up and then follow the Illuminated Parade, which will involve between 15 and 20 floats.
The full programme of events began with the Scarecrow Festival on the last weekend of August, and will carry on through into the middle of next month when Oktoberfest takes place in Bouverie Hall.
The September 19 parade begins at 7.30pm, starting from Carnival Field before proceeding through Pewsey.
The organisers charge £5 to park during the event, with visitors to the village invited to bring their spare change, which goes to one of the four charities the carnival sponsors.
Speaking ahead of this year’s main event, organiser Carol Parsons said: “For a village I think that’s an amazing performance."
Full access to all of our articles online and on the app, fewer adverts, a better reading experience, exclusive competitions and more - all for less than the price of a cup of coffee. ☕️
Subscribe now! - https://t.co/AQ9XF2gcO2 pic.twitter.com/bYvsD2lw5e— Gazette & Herald (@wiltsgazette) April 13, 2026
She said that in addition to the main procession, there will also be a river scene, music from a barrel organ, and 1,000 candles along the river, whose “reflection on the river is beautiful.”
Ahead of the Illuminated Parade on September 17, the organisers are hosting the Wheel-beer-o event, which sees teams of three pass through the village with a wheelbarrow, making three stops apiece at the village’s pubs.
Of the Wheel-beer-o event, Carol said: “That’s a lovely event, and we’ve had people from Norway and American come over to do it.”
Pewsey Carnival has been running since 1898, and is by Carol’s account the oldest in the county.
It also stands out as one of the most prominent, despite being run in and by a village community – and one that is self-funded at that.
Carol continued: “What makes us different is the fact that to run all this costs an awful lot of money.
“All year we run Cossors Shop in the centre of Pewsey which raises the money to put carnival on.
“That’s what helps fund carnival. Without that we wouldn’t be giving money away to charity, nor holding the vast array of events across the carnival month.”
Although Carol said she is “tired already” she added that while “it is a long haul, it’s well worth it.
“For me it’s a family tradition. My dad helped organise it for 50 years. I grew up doing it every year, and there’s a lot of childhood memories. For me it’s part of my life, vitally important.”
Share