St Pauls Carnival has announced an incredible event taking place take month where revellers can enjoy live music, delicious food and cricket. The city's carnival has teamed up with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club to present the first-ever T20 Carnival Clash on Saturday, June 17.
Hosted at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol, this one-off celebration will bring a Caribbean flavour to the Gloucestershire v Kent Spitfires Vitality Blast fixture. The game will also mark the start of the fringe series of pre-carnival day events culminating in the return of St Pauls Carnival to Bristol’s streets on July 1 after a three-year hiatus.
The fundraising evening will feature special pre-match performances from Carnival artists, including traditional steel pan and a procession troupe. Music will be provided by Carnival DJs blasting reggae, soca and calypso sounds from the islands to cricket fans as they arrive and throughout the evening.
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Food stalls will offer flavours from the Caribbean creating a truly authentic experience for fans.
The theme for this year’s carnival is ‘Learning from Legends’ and Carnival Clash T20 will bring together cricketing legend and current Gloucestershire president Syd Lawrence with St Pauls Carnival’s current chair Levi Roots.
This year will be poignant for the carnival as it marks 60 years since Bristol’s Bus Boycott as well as the 75th anniversary of HMT Empire Windrush arriving in Britain on 22 June 1948.
Mr Roots said: “ I am so excited about this – carnival, the Caribbean and cricket have a special relationship and we can’t wait to bring our blend of music, food and culture to this unique T20, which will definitely be one to remember.
“We’re busy preparing for our main carnival day on 1 July and this event will provide some of our artists the chance to showcase their performances and of course help us raise funds so we can keep delivering carnival for years to come."
Mr Lawrence added: “ This will be an incredible occasion - cricket has a long and colourful history in Caribbean culture and this is a fantastic chance for us to bring the vibrancy of St Pauls Carnival to T20 cricket.
"I’ve got no doubt that together Gloucestershire Cricket and St Pauls Carnival can create a T20 experience to remember and an event that offers something for everyone.”
Tickets for the Gloucestershire v Kent Spitfires Carnival Clash start from £15 and are available to buy here. Gates will open at 5pm for a 7pm start as Glos take centre stage under floodlights in a bid to reach the knockout stage of the Vitality Blast tournament.
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