People's Parade

Dive into the Heart of Carnival with our diverse range of workshops. Led by Great British Carnival, Folk Dance Remix, and Leyton Orient Trust, these sessions offer hands-on experiences in music, movement, and masquerade. Perfect for all ages and abilities. Join in, unleash your creativity, bring our community together and let’s celebrate through art, dance, and play!

Carnival parades have been a part of Waltham Forest's history since as early as 1890. We were thrilled to bring this tradition to life again, featuring carnival troupes performing masquerades from England, Brazil, Mauritius, and the Caribbean. By showcasing these diverse cultures, we honoured the borough's rich heritage and folklore. Inspired by Waltham Forest’s pioneering African-Caribbean Carnival makers and the uplifting success of the World’s First Doorstep Carnival, we re-imagined a pedestrian carnival that celebrated the natural environment, championed biodiversity, and lifted the hearts of all communities.

Cohesive Communities: diverse, multicultural, multi-generational new, settled, isolated, underrepresented
3,250 contributors and participants
4,500 audiences
100 voluntary and community organisations
60 Volunteer and Train opportunities provided to residents
15 work experience opportunities
300 hours of Carnival Arts workshops,
2,500 DIY Carnival Masks

Hundreds of people were engaged through one-on-one and group conversations, reaching communities across Waltham Forest. This included artists, arts organisations, schools, youth groups, community and faith groups. We reawakened conversations with some of the borough’s Caribbean Carnival pioneers and opened new dialogues with Carnival enthusiasts from diverse cultures.
Local Community Artists, Ricardo Boukie, Jenny McKenzie, Delroy Murray, Anna van der Poorten and Frank Sweeney led 300 hours of Carnival Arts workshops, engaging 1,600 participants. At the Carnival Fête, they delivered nonstop activities for children and families throughout the afternoon. From May to July, weekly sessions were held at The Score, Dementia Hub, African Caribbean Elders Association, and Leyton Library. We also hosted pop-up workshops at Langthorne Park Festival and Windrush Day at Fellowship Square, while distributing 1,500 DIY Carnival Masks to Early Years to Key Stage 6 children in Leyton schools.
The Heart of Carnival is the driving force behind the community engagement, learning and participation, and creative development of Leyton Mást. It serves as an inclusive cultural space for knowledge exchange between participants, artists, creative practitioners, community activists, organisations, businesses, and institutions.