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Carnival is a very important and ingrained part of our shared human heritage. The overwhelming pleasure gained from this collective activity cannot be underestimated. Now running for ten years, Charivari Day was one of the first calendar projects initiated by Strange Cargo and has been taking place in Folkestone each July since 1997. The thousands of participants who have been involved over the years have grown into a veritable army of supporters for the event, contributing a huge legacy of skills into the local community. Strange Cargo has initiated other carnival events, such as Skelly Night in Ramsgate, which is based on imagery from the Mexican Day of the Dead festival, and a number of carnival inspired entries for the Lord Mayor's Show in London.
Access, Participation and Excellence
Our ethos of access, participation and excellence underpins all of our projects. Why is participation so important? We believe in an innovative and contemporary approach to participation, and recognise that if people are happy and willing to work with us to make a carnival costume or lantern, and enjoy the experience of taking tot he streets then they are more likely to put their trust in us and explore more challenging creative opportunities.
Midwinter Passion
At Strange Cargo we have observed a curious phenomenon: you will find no happier audience than during a freezing cold winter event - even sleet and rain cannot dampen the enthusiasm of the British audience, the manifestation perhaps of our inherent European passion for fire and darkness. In the northern hemisphere, festivals of light and rituals celebrating winter solstice can be traced back thousands of years. During the longest nights of the year, bonfires, processions and torches have always been used to represent the battle between light and dark. Midwinter festivals, regardless of origin or religious tone, create a welcome sense of hope and celebration to banish the winter chill. Strange Cargo is currently undertaking research into the customs and festive traditions of northern and eastern Europe to create a programme of exciting winter events.