Carnival fever swept Spen in July 1970
FORTY years ago this week, Spen was gripped by carnival fever. Games, parades, dances, pop concerts and exhibitions were held throughout the fun-packed week, the highlight of which was an It's a Knockout style competition with neighbouring Brighouse.
The week's festivities began in fairly respectful mood, with a drumhead march through Cleckheaton led by a dozen standards of British Legion branches.
However the rest of the week was one of fun and frivolity as thousands of people flocked to the events held in Cleckheaton, Gomersal and Littletown.
It was the first time Spenborough Council had held a carnival, and it was deemed a huge success by Gerard Baldwin, the council's cultural and recreational organiser.
He told the Spenborough Guardian: "This is very much a community event, all we have really done is given free rein to people's imaginations. We have provided the facilities and let them go ahead."
Gomersal Public Hall hosted an Edwardian follies night, old tyme music night and pop festival while Spenborough Town Hall was the venue for a carnival ball, jazz rock show, songs of praise and old tyme music hall.
Other features of the week included tennis, badminton and bowling tournaments, talent competition, pop record evening, drama, whippet racing, swimming gala, photography, model engineering, local history exhibitions, a flower show, and lots more.
However the highlight was undoubtedly the It's a Knockout competition at the Princess Mary Playing Fields – which also hosted a fun fair.
The Spenborough team was headed by the pool's assistant manager David Heald and comprised members of youth clubs, fire and ambulance workers, Spen Athletic team members, BBA employees and council staff and St Peg Lane Residents' Association.
Games included a marathon pillow fight over a tank of deep water, a hammock race involving the collection of jellies, a precarious journey across a suspended canvas, a circular carpet race, wellington boot race – the boots were filled with water – and a roller skating waiter race.
* See next week's Looking Back to see how the Spenborough team fared.
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Weather for Cleckheaton
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -6 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
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