Tavistock Carnival is back this July after a three-year absence due to covid – and the search is on for a Carnival Princess and her attendants to sparkle and wave to the crowds at the head of the procession.

Carnival Week opens on Sunday, July 10 with with the crowning of the princess and attendants, and culminates on Saturday, July 16 with an evening procession through town, when the royal group will don tiaras and wave regally to the crowds.

It is being organised by the Lions Club of Tavistock, with this year’s theme being ‘We are the World’, chosen to reflect the present troubled times and show solidarity for Ukraine.

Girls aged between seven and 11 interested in taking on the role of Carnival Princess or her attendants are invited to apply on the form on this page or via the club’s Facebook page before Monday, May 23.

To apply, girls must be aged between seven and 11 on July 1 and live in the PL19 and PL20 postal districts.

The competition is being sponsored by the Tavistock Times Gazette and Lawsons of Tavistock and the Lions are grateful for their ongoing support.

The princess and her attendants will be chosen at the Anchorage Centre on Thursday, May 26 at 6pm with the crowning of the princess and her attendants taking place at the ‘Funday in the Meadows’ which kickstarts Carnival Week on Sunday, July 10 at 3pm.

The princess and her attendants will lead the carnival procession through the streets of Tavistock in the main procession on the evening of Saturday, July 16 and will also need to be available for their crowning on July 10 at other times during the week.While the full programme for Carnival Week has yet to be finalised, it will definitely include the fun day and the procession as well as the popular pavement artists’ competition, a concert in the church, a talk by Simon Dell on Tavistock’s policing past.

Find out more information at www.tavistocklions.org.uk.