Paracarnival Parade

The Paracarnival procession through Hallsville on 1 December.

1 December 2019: 2pm ‘Amazonia’ Paracarnival Parade. Disabled Carnival performers will be parading through Newham’s newest neighbourhood, Hallsville in Canning Town, to celebrate the Together! 2019 Disability History Month Festival at 2pm on 1 December. Paracarnival will be showcasing the costumes they made over the summer in East London as part of the Together! with Paracarnival project, which included participants from the Together! 2012 Clubs, Act Up! Newham, Powerhouse Women, the Mega Club at Discover and Starpad DJs. The group won Best Theme Interpretation at Hackney Carnival in September with ‘Amazonia’.

It was recently announced by Arts Council England that festival organisers Together! 2012 CIC will be one of four organisations leading in a national inclusive Carnival project, with Paracarnival as an artistic partner. The £186,000 ‘Open Road’ project will showcase work from East London across the UK in 2020, and develop training resources to enable all Carnival organisers to include Disabled people successfully within their work. New work will be shown at Hackney Carnival, and the Together! 2020 Disability History Month Festival will include a conference aimed at all Carnival professionals.

Together! 2012 Artistic Director Dr Ju Gosling said: “We are delighted that our partnership with Paracarnival has not only achieved artistic recognition, but also recognition for the high quality of our inclusive policies and practices. We are looking forward to working with the other national and artistic partners to change the face of UK Carnivals and make them welcoming and inclusive of all Disabled people.”

1 December is also World AIDS Day, so we remember our Disabled residents with HIV. Newham has more than three times the English average percentage of residents living with HIV. Almost half of our residents receive a late diagnosis, meaning that they are likely to have chronic health problems, in addition to all diagnosed residents taking daily medication and facing discrimination.

Morrisons, Silvertown Way, Canning Town, London E16 1ED. Nearest tube, bus and DLR stations: Canning Town (fully accessible and just opposite Morrisons).