100s sign up for big city parade
By Jessica Cunniffe
Hundreds of people have already signed up for Milton Keynes's first city parade.
Organisations from MK Pole Fitness to The Lions Club will be marching to celebr8mk, after MK NEWS unveiled plans for the march.
The August 29 event, billed as the city's answer to the Notting Hill Carnival, has attracted 20 different groups so far.
This amounts to 400 people already vowing to march from Campbell Park around the city centre to celebrate the achievements of the city.
They range from just three people in the Fortune's Fool Theatre Company, who perform the complete works of Shakespeare, to the 100 gymnasts in MK Springers.
Organiser Gavin Anderson said "I'm really pleased. One of the most heartening things about the response is the range of groups. We've got everybody from African drummers to the homeless charity Shelter. It's going to be such a great parade because the groups are so, so different and our only commonality is the fact that we are all from Milton Keynes."
A stakeholder meeting will be held in March to bring together all the groups.
Mr Anderson is aiming for a crowd of 10,000 participants and spectators at the annual Celebr8mk event, which is supported by MK NEWS.
It coincides with Milton Keynes's bid for city status, which is due to get underway later in the year, and it successfully securing World Cup Host City Status.
Mark Row, of Fortune's Fool, said "We will be bringing street theatre to the parade, interacting with the crowd, though it is a first for us to do this in a parade. We were interested straight away. It's not like you have to twist anyone's arm. This is the sort of place where people jump on board events like this."
Hannah Taylor, of MK Pole Fitness, plans to demonstrate moves on a pole on the back of a trailer. She said: "As soon as I heard about the parade I registered. It's great for Milton Keynes."
See www.celebr8mk.co.uk for details of how to register.
MK News, 17/02/2010