TAVISTOCK Lions’ Club has taken the decision to cancel this year’s carnival week in July but hopes to hold the biggest ever fun day in the Meadows later this summer if coronavirus restrictions have been lifted.

Spokesman for the club Steve Grummitt said under the current restrictions it would be very hard to organise carnival week as preparation with the schools, bands, the church, the choosing of the princess and the selling of advertising would have to start now, and that was just not feasible.

The carnival was taking the ‘Pioneers and Adventurers’ theme this year to tie in with the planned Mayflower 400 celebrations. A number of events were planned throughout the week including the popular baby show and the pavement artists’ competition with the finale of the week being the carnival parade on the Saturday evening. It would return next year all singing and dancing, said Steve.

‘It was a sad decision but not a hard one,’ he said. ‘With large sporting events like Wimbledon and the Olympics being cancelled we had no other option really.

‘One of the biggest revenue streams is the carnival magazine and most of the businesses that advertise in it are not trading at the moment so we would not be able to ask for their help this year either.

‘I would like to thank all the traders and businesses who have supported the carnival in the past and we hope this is the first and last year we ever have to cancel it.

‘We hope to have a really big fun day in the Meadows in late August if things get back to normal by then.’