OLD Basing Carnival went off like a fairytale as people lined the streets of the village and Lychpit to see the procession in the sun.

The 47th Old Basing Carnival last Saturday had the event’s biggest ever turnout, with more than 3,500 people enjoying the sunshine and seeing the procession, helping to raise more than £5,000 for the community.

There were 15 parade entries on this year’s ‘fairytale’ theme which were submitted to be judged on the day, and there was a 70-strong collection of people in the procession.

The overall winner was the Boyle O’Dowda Academy of Irish Dance, with their Alice in Wonderland-themed effort.

This year’s tug-of-war was won by the ‘Tug-o-nauts’ team.

Joe Croombs, event organiser and chair of the carnival committee, said: “Everyone was buzzing. There was such a community feel to the event, which was wonderful to see.

“We were incredibly lucky with the weather, the sun was shining all day which really helped and encouraged people to join in and watch.

“We had residents on the procession path who sat outside their houses waiting for them to come past.”

The prince and princess of the parade enjoyed waving from the inside of an Austen 7 car, and the escort and attendant followed behind in a donated Audi.

This year’s prince was Tom Welsh-Smyth, nine, from Lychpit and this year’s princess was nine-year-old Megan Perks, also of Lychpit.

The attendants were Eadie Haystaff, eight, from Old Basing and escort Joshua Cooper, six, from Lychpit.

Also announced were plans for the upcoming 2020 Old Basing Carnival, which will be the event’s fiftieth. To celebrate this, the organisers hope to get members from each of the previous events to take part.

Joe added: “Whether you were just there taking part or you were the prince or princess, we want to hear from you to get involved.

“We are organising far in advance, but we want to get the word out now.”

If you have taken part in any of the previous Old Basing Carnival events and would like to get involved, e-mail oldbasingcarnival@outlook.com.