Take part in Victoria Day

We are inviting everyone to take part in Victoria Day on Saturday 8 June and there are lots of exciting opportunities for residents, volunteers, community groups, schools and businesses to get involved.

Free dance, music and carnival workshops

Nutkhut are hosting these workshops in the run up to Victoria Day with everyone having the opportunity to take part in the parade.

Absolutely no previous dance experience is needed, it's all about having fun and getting involved in the celebrations! This will be a supportive and friendly group, so if you aren't sure whether it's for you, please do come along and give it a go, we'd love to see you!

Your friends and family are also more than welcome to join the workshops - adults and children aged 9+ all welcome (ages 9 to 16 must be accompanied by an adult and the adult must remain with them).

This project is funded and managed by Rushmoor Borough Council and Arts Council England.

Samba drumming workshop

Learn new skills, make new friends, create music and have loads of great fun at this free Victoria Day samba drumming workshop on Saturday 2 June from 2 to 4pm at Princes Hall.

We are inviting everyone from the local community to come along to our new workshop and take part in an introduction to samba drumming.

Absolutely no experience is necessary – it’s all about having fun!

Anyone can have a go at samba drumming, which mixes African, Asian and Latin-American rhythms to create energetic, upbeat carnival-style music. Our workshops will be led by Beatroots Bateria, who are a community samba group, based in Reading. After just one workshop, you will learn enough to join in with the samba group at Victoria Day.

You are welcome to bring friends and family along, but all children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. You must reserve a space for each person coming along.

We will add booking information closer to the event.

This project is funded and managed by Rushmoor Borough Council and Arts Council England.

Carnival workshops

On the run up to Victoria Day, national carnival company Shademakers UK will be hosting free community workshops

These will be giving everyone the chance to learn more about carnival, create carnival parade crafts, learn movement, try on costumes and much more!

We will publish more details and dates on this web page soon.

Take part in the parade

Everyone is invited to take part in the carnival parade, in groups or even on your own! The carnival leaves Princes Hall at 11am, with more than 800 people creating a fantastic atmosphere.

This year the theme is 'Carnival of the Animals' and we want everyone taking part to embrace our animal theme!

We are working with a leading national carnival organisation to bring their amazing costumes and performers to the event this year. Groups will have the opportunity to use their carnival props and costumes during the parade. 

If you are a volunteer, part of a community group or organisation from around Aldershot and Farnborough, we'd love you to apply to take part. 

The route is shorter this year (0.5 miles), starting at Princes Hall and ending at the High Street multi-storey car park. The parade will travel slowly and will take around an hour.

To apply, please complete the parade application form. Applications close on Friday 24 May. 

Volunteer on the day

On the day, our volunteers support the event with parade marshalling, stallholder arrival and helping with family activities. Our volunteers choose which elements of the event they would like to get involved in.

If you would like to find out more or volunteer for helping on the day, please email Jenny Atherton, Events and Cultural Projects Manager at towncentreevents@rushmoor.gov.uk. 

Join the planning group

Victoria Day is our biggest event of the year and it is our community volunteers that make the event extra-special. Aldershot Community Together's Victoria Day planning group is meeting in the run up to the event and we invite you to come along to find out more about how to get involved.

There's lots of ways you can support the event, including the chance to shape the day's activities around the animal theme, helping us to promote the event locally and contacting local groups to see if they would like to get involved.

You can choose which elements of the event you would like to get involved in.

If you would like to find out more, please email Jenny Atherton, Events and Cultural Projects Manager at towncentreevents@rushmoor.gov.uk. 

Sponsor the event

We need to raise £10,000 to run Victoria Day and are looking for sponsors in 2024 who would like to promote their brand to thousands of people people through our promotional channels. Please do get in touch if you would like to know more about sponsoring the event and we'll send a sponsorship information pack.

Please email Jenny Atherton, Events and Cultural Projects Manager at towncentrevents@rushmoor.gov.uk. 

Apply for the stallholder waiting list

Our stalls are now fully booked, but you can apply to join the waiting list. For more information, please read through the stallholder information pack.

Apply to join the waiting list for a stall using our Victoria Day stallholder application form.

This event is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. 

Thanks to our sponsors

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