Saturday 25 June, 3pm, Ryde

The Isle of Wight Mardi Gras come to Ryde, Isle of Wight, on Saturday 25th June when hundreds of children and young people will be dancing through the streets of the town presenting the fruits of their carnival endeavours. This year’s theme ‘All the World’s a Stage’ links to national and international commemorations surrounding the 400th anniversary of the passing of William Shakespeare. Since January we have been working with artists, teachers and children in 30 school and community groups to explore, discover, create and present, through a spectacle of costume music and dance, some of the plays and quotations penned by the Bard.

The IW Mardi Gras will set off from Ryde School, Queens Road at 3.15pm for Newport Street, High Street, Union Street and the Esplanade ending with a jump-up party for the youngsters on Eastern Garden at 5.00.

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Ryde Arts Festival Ryde has been celebrating with its own festival for fifteen years, receiving many Arts Council grants and backing from the Ryde Town Council, Isle of Wight Council and local business organisations.

Ryde Arts Festival has always been a community based celebration of the talents of the town and wider Island. Our mission has been to commission new work and so grow opportunities for professional artists. We always seek to involve many individuals and groups in all our projects and believe that by working in collaboration we can all achieve exciting outcomes.

Previous years have seen towering installations, heard new music and created a life size rag doll family, to name a few. This year we have achieved a two-year grant from Arts Council England which we hope will Grow Ryde’s fame even further.