PICTURES: Skegness Carnival is right royal celebration for crowds

The red white and blue theme to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee made it one of the most colorful parades in years and the massive effort everyone put in was clearly appreciated by the miles of smiles along the route through the town.

More than 30 cruises participated, along with performers and a few surprise entries.

Chinese Falun Gong drummers traveled all the way from London to take part in the procession – and then went on to perform in Tower Gardens, where there were stalls and other entertainment, including a children’s show, throughout the day.

TV and stage celebrity Dee Dee Lee, from Skegness, also gave a suitably royal performance by joining the parade in her Jubliee Union Flag dress.

Her appearance was a tribute to her great-grandfather Fred Stamper, also a Variety artist, as it was 109 years since he joined the parade in Skegness dressed as Ghandi.

It was also great to see the return of the Janice Sutton Theater School to the procession. It was a bittersweet day for Janice after the death of her husband, Ivan, who always organized their cruises.

“We couldn’t leave the carnival, we had booked the truck and the dancers were so excited,” Janice said. “It was a great day.”

Carnival committee member Ady Findley led the procession in his van. “What a wonderful day!” he said. “Growing up, I’ve seen the carnival and even been in it, but it was such an honor to run it and see hundreds of smiling faces along the way.

“It’s been a long time coming, but it’s certainly worth all the hard work from committee members and supporters.”

Many of the crowd were on vacation. Ernest Parks, from Stoke on Trent, was having a great time. “It’s great,” he said> “I can’t believe how long it is. I especially enjoyed the Guide cruise.”

Gary and Colleen Dowd were from County Durham and said they were impressed by the size of the floats. Colleen said, “It’s been great.”