The volunteers behind 50 years of Luton Carnival

Luton International Carnival reaches a golden milestone as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Long known for its hat-making industry, the town began hosting Easter bonnet parades in the 1950s to counter the years of World War Two bleakness.

Over the following decades, those springtime celebrations evolved and on 31 May 1976 a Victorian-style street fair was held to mark the centenary of Luton getting borough status.

Festivities continued over the summer across the town, including a carnival procession with floats and fancy dress in Sundon Park.

Fifty years later and carnival remains in Luton where volunteers, communities and cultures come together to make costumes, dance and celebrate their town.

Marilyn Gearing, 88, describes herself as the link between that past and the Luton International Carnival of today.

During the 1954 Easter Bonnet Parade, the octogenarian, who was 15 years old, beat six other hopefuls to be crowned Luton's first Hat Queen.

She continued to be involved with celebrations and was there in 1976 at the event now considered the origin of the current event.

"Everybody was dressed in Victorian costumes. Oh, it was wonderful... the girls had boaters on and Victorian blouses... boaters were everywhere," she recalls.

She missed the first carnival procession itself as she was collecting for Samaritans in the town centre, while the "more Caribbean" parade took place in Sundon Park.

For nearly two decades, Gearing was content to support the carnival from her fundraising stall, but in 1990 organisers challenged her to join the procession and help make the costumes.

"I didn't even know what a glue brush was when I started," she admits.

With guidance from local artists she went on to make costumes every year and win prizes for Samaritans with her work.

This year she will be on a float with other "carnival legends", and still finds time to help preparation efforts.

She says: "I've been down here every Saturday afternoon and a couple of Thursdays helping make the costumes.

"I've helped make feathers, because we make feathers now, not buy them. We try to recycle a lot of things."

Gearing believes the event's greatest strength is its ability to bring people together across generations and from different backgrounds.

She says: "You can come with your children, you can come with your grandparents, you can come with your friends, and you can make friends there.

"It's such a wonderful fun day. It's lovely, and it's free."

This positivity extends to the diverse team of volunteers who work behind the scenes.

She said: "We get on so well, don't we? And it's so lovely to talk to all the people here and find out where they come from, what their life was like.

"I really do love the people here. They are just like family.

"I hope it goes on forever, because it's so important for Luton."

Margaret Matthew, 86, is known as "Auntie Margaret" by her fellow costume-makers.

Originally from the Caribbean island of St Kitts, she grew up with the carnival tradition, but only intended to find work and raise a family when she first moved to Luton.

She says: "Carnival is not a one-nation thing, it's not a one-person thing, it's not a one-culture thing. It's an everybody thing.

"When you hear that music, carnival music is big, it's loud and it makes you want to dance — and I love to dance."

Matthew now leads a group called St Kitts, Nevis & Friends which has won awards for its costumes from Luton and other carnivals around the country.

When she first started in 1984, costumes were made from cardboard and newspaper in people's garages.

"Our costumes are big and bold and very pretty... very, very colourful," she says.

"They are huge. When you finish, you see this beautiful object appear that you put together.

"It's art.

"Carnival is art and more people should get into carnival and make these beautiful costumes."

When making costumes, Matthew arrives at Luton Carnival Arts Centre at 10:00 and does not leave until 18:00.

The group leader said the creations could not be done without teamwork.

"I've never, ever finished a carnival costume on my own. It's a group thing," she said.

"I start it, but I have volunteers who would come and they would help me.

"Then you see these beautiful objects and it's nice when you finish doing them. You just feel so proud of yourself.

"Then when you're on the road dancing and people say 'who made that?', I say 'we did'."

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