Do you dream of walking down the red carpet, paparazzi in tow? Well, on May Day, Ilkley Carnival is back, turning our dreams into reality with its ‘At the Movies’ theme!

I’m Laura and I have been interning at Approach PR since September 2016, while studying Public Relations at Leeds Beckett University. The team here at Approach has been supporting Ilkley Carnival for six years and I am thrilled to be helping with social media, copywriting and creative planning for this year’s event.

The carnival committee is encouraging people of Ilkley to get their creativity caps on and dress up for the occasion as celebrities, characters and film themed tableaux in what we think will be the most spectacular parade yet – we’ll be digging out the pink lady jackets!

It is a truly amazing community event organised solely by the heroic committee of volunteers, with the support of the PR and social media expertise we provide as part of our CSR commitment.

The 2016 event saw an audience of 10,500 attendees, even in the pouring rain – showing utter dedication from the people of Ilkley! It was another successful event which raised more than £10k for the chosen beneficiaries.

Things to look out for this year…

  • Our two hashtags #IlkleyCarnival17 and #AtTheMovies – follow our social media activity using these hashtags
  • We’ve launched a social media competition ‘#CarnivalMemories’ asking individuals to send in photos of their memories from previous years at Ilkley Carnival and every Friday a new winner will be announced. Each of the lucky winners will receive a pair of tickets to this year’s carnival
  • The historic Black Hats and White Hats cricket match on the day of the carnival is returning for a second year
  • Local schools and the children of Ilkley are currently busy taking part in the annual ‘Creative Competition’, designing this year’s front cover for the carnival’s brochure. The winner will be announced on the 20th March, stay tuned!
  • We’ll be keeping you posted on social media, for the announcement of the Ilkley Carnival 2017 main act… We know you’re going to love it!

Here at the agency we have a lot of love for the carnival and use our passion to create new and exciting ways to spread its messages every year. From managing the social media to coordinating the day’s set-up and the fun dog show, each year, we feel extremely proud to be part of Ilkley Carnival.

See you on the 1st of May…