Shirley Carnival
Crowds flocked to Shirley Park on Saturday 28th August 2021 for the Shirley Lions Carnival and were entertained by a full programme of acts.
The annual carnival was cancelled last year and then delayed this year due to Covid but with the easing of restrictions the public were obviously keen to get out into the fresh air to celebrate and enjoy the sunshine.
Top of the billing was Dangerous Steve who wowed the crowd by performing spectacular stunts with fire, trick motorbike and quad bike riding and balancing acts. He was supported by the Shirley Pipe Band, and local dance and singing groups including J D Dance Vibe and Solihull Rock Choir. And of course Punch and Judy were there to enthral the children.
The carnival was opened by Solihull’s Mayor Councillor Ken Meeson accompanied by his wife Mayoress Annette. They were delighted to see so many people attending and walked around the many stalls accompanied by Shirley Lions President Mark Stokes.
President Mark said “We are hoping to have raised much needed funds for our charitable activities which have been severely curtailed over the last 18 months due the pandemic. Whilst we have been able to carry out several food collections for the local food bank there has been little opportunity for fund raising. Let’s hope our activities can now return to normal so we can help the local community again”.
Many other charities had stalls and were also able to raise much needed funds themselves, including Solihull Wheels for All, a local charity that enables people with physical or learning difficulties to be able to learn to ride a bicycle. They have a range of specially adapted cycles one of which was provided by Shirley Lions a few years ago from funds raised from events like the carnival.
The star of this year's Carnival was "Dangerous Steve" and for full details of this amazing act please see : Thrilling outdoor show and street theatre entertainment | Dangerous Steve
Also appearing at the Carnival were the Shirley Pipe Band
plus J D C Dance Vibe https://www.facebook.com/JDC-Dancevibe
plus Shirley Rock Choir https://rockchoir.com/ and not forgetting the ever popular Punch & Judy
Some more photos from 2021 Carnival
