Roll up, roll up as Carnival comes to town next Monday, 12th November from 7.30 p.m. The glittering spectacle will once again return to the High Street to raise money for local charities and causes.

Starting at Charlton Road, Midsomer Norton, the procession will make its way down Silver Street and travel the wrong way up the High Street, before turning right at Stones Cross and finishing by Wishford Mews on Radstock Road at 10 p.m.

The A367 Wells Road, Fosseway (beyond the White Post roundabout) will close from 9 p.m. on Saturday, 10th November, as the larger carts will assemble here.

There will be rolling road closures on the day; beginning at the High Street, which will be closed from 5.30 p.m. until 1 a.m., Charlton Lane closes from 6.30 p.m.; the A367 from Westfield Industrial Estate to the White Post and

Charlton Road and Silver Street follow from 7 p.m.

The A362 Radstock Road will close from 8 p.m. from Stones Cross all the way to Radstock, with roads re-opening after the procession has cleared the route, beginning with Charlton Lane.

The East section of the A362 Radstock Road will remain closed until 2.30 a.m. on Tuesday, 13th November, to allow the larger carts to disperse and dis-assemble.

Please be aware that vehicles that remain parked on these roads will be subject to a fixed penalty notice and will be towed; applying to all vehicles, including disabled blue badge parking. Contact: 01225 448025 to arrange recovery, should this happen to you.

The Midsomer Norton & District Carnival Association are calling on your support to keep this event going each year and ask the public to give generously to this voluntarily organised event. It is only able to run through community donations, fundraising, support from local businesses and sponsorship from Midsomer Norton Town Council and the Midsomer Norton Community Trust.

Midsomer Norton Carnival has a long history with the town. It was set up by a committee of local businessmen, inspired by Carnivals popping up across Somerset, to lighten up a dark, post-war November evening, with the first event held in 1948. With electricity scarce then, the event was a ’torchlit’ Carnival, with floats much smaller than they are now, and local firms starting their own Carnival Clubs. The tradition of Carnival Queen also began then and continues to this day.

The streets would have been lined with fairground games and amusements, lighting up the town’s High Street. However, Carnival ran out of steam in 1960, only to be relaunched in 1975. Since then, the route has changed – moving up to Westfield and then back to Midsomer Norton High Street in recent years.

The Carnival Association has had a tough task this year – snow in March meant one of its main fundraising events, the Bath Half Marathon, was cancelled for the first time in its history, leaving a financial hole of £2,000. Your support is most definitely needed!

Those who would like to vote for their favourite entry can do so for the first time this year via the free app, ’CarniApp’, which shows the route of all of the local Carnivals, sponsors and entries and is downloadable from the App Store. You can even donate online.

So, come and line the streets for this exciting event! For more information, visit: https://illuminatedcarnival.co.uk or find them on Facebook, with live traffic and road closure updates on the night.