This page will be updated regularly during the next couple of months in the run up to the Kingston Carnival 2025.
In 2025, Kingston Carnival will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a spectacular carnival parade and a day filled with colourful performances, delicious African Caribbean foods and the best ingredient to all – great music. This year’s theme take its lead from Kingston 2025, as we acknowledge the importance of bringing together our many communities in the spirit of tolerance, friendship and togetherness. The Carnival’s main aims are to bring communities together by fostering the promotion of diverse cultures, creative development and enhancement of artistic excellence, by positively promoting Kingston and its surrounding areas through Carnival celebratory activities locally and within the region.
The carnival parade, starts outside the Guildhall, with music stages in the Ancient Market Place and High Street.
The timeline is as follows:
12pm – 1.15pm : procession from Guildhall, Eden Street, Clarence Street, Thames Street, Market Place, then Guildhall
1.30pm – 5.30pm Children’s area : fun and games
1.30pm – 6pm : Green Zone in All Saint’s Church
1.45pm – 8pm Market place stage : KREC/Banquet Records
1.45 – 6pm Community Stage : music and dance
The Carnival is having a wide range of food stalls showcasing culinary delights from around the world but the emphasis is supporting local businesses and independent traders.
The Green Zone makes a comeback this year after a couple of year’s absence. This will be based in the grounds of All Saint’s Church with emphasis on sustainability, recycling and promoting sustainable transport. And with the best of intentions the Carnival itself is moving towards a green future using electric vehicles where possible and banning single use plastics. We are currently taking applications for food/drinks, charity and green zone stalls and can confirm some of these in the upcoming weeks.
There are two music stages. The Market Place stage will have professional artists and bands. The Community Stage features local talent and promotes community participation. The Apple Market has a sound system which caters for all music genres.
Please come and show your support for the drumming performance outside Bentalls with Kingston Community Drumming group to help raise awareness and interest in Kingston Carnival. There will be further performances on Sundays 3-5pm leading up to the carnival.
We hope you join us on our fun-filled, family day and we invite you all to share a day of celebration for all our communities.
Stewards
Could you support Kingston Carnival by becoming a steward? We will provide you with a Kingston Carnival steward t-shirt, £6 an hour and a £5 lunch voucher to thank you for your support in making the Carnival a happy and welcoming event. Sign up here:
To apply for Trade Stall on the day please follow the link to view/download the Terms & conditions and application form
To apply for Charity Stall on the day please follow the link to view/download the Terms & conditions and application form
Charity stall application form
To apply for a stall in the Green Zone on the day please follow the link to view/download the Terms & conditions and application form
Green zone stall application form
Check our Social Media posts as well for regular updates:
More details on what’s happening on the day itself