The wild west, Minions, the Wizard of Oz – some of the fantastic costumes on show at Presteigne Carnival

Presteigne Carnival 2026 had a fantastic festival vibe, just as the new committee had hoped.

From the Wizard of Oz were Dorothy – Heidi Jakubiec and Glinda, the good witch – Jayne Jakubiec. Andy Compton | Andy Compton

placeholder image — From the Wizard of Oz were Dorothy – Heidi Jakubiec and Glinda, the good witch – Jayne Jakubiec. Andy Compton | Andy Compton

People of all ages put on some fantastic costumes and decorated all kinds of buggies, bikes and floats bringing lots of colour and sounds to the town.

Chatterbrook Women's Institute brought the Wild West to Presteigne. Andy Compton | Andy Compton

Hundreds of people packed the streets to watch the parade, cheering and clapping as the procession passed by.

Laura McDonald as Mrs Brown from Mrs Brown's Boys with Lucy Owens, the Good Fairy. Andy Compton. | Andy Compton.

Then they all followed it upto the carnival field on Wentes Meadow which was full of attractions, activities and food and drink stands.

Vicki Sanderson and Leanne Cakmak with Milo Sanderson and Louis Cakmak as the Super Marios. Andy Compton. | Andy Compton.

The headline entertainment this year was Law Dogs and Ladies, and they presented two wild west shows during the day.

The Bray and Dyer families with their Ready to Rock buggy. | Andy Compton

This year's Carnival Queen Izzy Greenham, 15, was crowned during the carnival and she was joined by her attendants Imogen Traylor, Rowan Evans, Sophie Lunn and Freddie Morris.

The Retallick Family as characters from Star Wars – Tommy as a storm trooper, Freddie as Darth Vader and Alfie in a spaceship. | Andy Compton

Other attractions included animal club encounters, Be Brilliant Dog show, Presteigne Fire Brigade, Heavy Hitters Strong man, Benji the magician, Chris Hare mind boggler, and Emma’s donkeys.

Darcey Newbury, seven and Sadie Williams, three from Toy Story. Andy Compton. | Andy Compton.

For youngsters there were inflatables, children’s races, a doughnut eating competition, Carnival games, soft play, branching out - forest school activities, face painting, and poi spinning.

Broseley Beats band provided some music during the parade. Andy Compton. | Andy Compton.

There was a series of dance classes with Cool Moves jive, Kinsham Line Dancers, and a Muay Thai and yoga workshop.

This year's Carnival Queen is Izzy Greenham, 15, with her attendants Imogen Traylor, Rowan Evans, Sophie Lunn and Freddie Morris. Izzy was crowned during the carnival. Andy Compton. | Andy Compton.

There was a variety of community stalls with people selling their crafts including Titterstone Clee Honey who are bringing a live bee observation, Dexter’s 3d printing, Crafty Dog Chutneys, See Useful Collections, TJ crafts and gifts, CCCollections, Presteigne Floral Art, and Presteigne Scouts.

Lian Lund of Learn 2 Jive with Martin Wells (Noggin) dancing in the street. They put on two demonstrations during carnival day and hold classes all over the area. Andy Compton. | Andy Compton.

In the Country Fair the class categories included homegrown produce, home grown flowers, floral art, cookery, home crafts, hobbies and interests, and children’s classes.

Chatterbrook WI with their Wild West wagon. | Andy Compton.

The evening entertainment included music from Dj Miles Clent, Time Of The Mouth and headlining was The Limit.

Beth Powell and two year-old Winston were having a great time as part of the carnival parade. Andy Compton. | Andy Compton.

A wide variety of food and drink was available during the day and night including pizza, stuffed pittas, burgers and hog dogs, cocktails, mocktails and classic Pimms.

Linda Johnston and Mike Hunting took it easy on their recumbent tricycles during the parade. | Andy Compton.

There was also ice cream, cakes, hot and cold drinks and a hog roast.

Presteigne Young Farmers Club Chairman Ryan Mellings was on the YFC float which highlighted all of the competitions and activities that members get involved in. | Andy Compton

A spokesperson for the carnival committee said: “We wanted to say a huge thank you, now that the dust has settled.

“To our incredible carnival committee… thank you. Over the last 10 months you’ve given up evenings, weekends and countless hours behind the scenes to pull this all together. Then you spent all day Friday setting up, all day Saturday making sure everything ran as smoothly as possible, and on Sunday you were back on the field packing everything away until it looked like Carnival had never even happened.

“We were unfortunately very short on volunteers this year, but the people who stepped forward absolutely pulled out all the stops. Every single one of you made a huge difference, and we honestly couldn’t have done it without you.

“When we took over as the new committee, our aim was to give Carnival a fresh feel. We wanted to bring a bit of a festival vibe while keeping everything that makes Presteigne Carnival so special. Looking around the field yesterday… we think we achieved exactly that!

Huge crowds turned out to watch the Presteigne Carnival parade as Broseley Beats Samba Band contributed to the festival vibe. | Andy Compton

“To everyone who has supported us along the way… thank you. Whether you liked and shared our Facebook posts, entered the Treasure Hunt, took part in or watched the Wheelbarrow Race or came along yesterday to enjoy Carnival Day… thank you for getting behind us.

There was dancing on the streets as members of Learn 2 Jive strutted their stuff. Andy Compton | Andy Compton

“Finally, thank you to every vendor, performer, community stall, sponsor, volunteer, committee member and every single person who came along to support us. You all played a part in making Carnival 2026 such a special day.

“Here’s to doing it all again next year if we’re brave enough… after we’ve all had a bit of a lie down that is!”