Aldeburgh’s traditonal seaside carnival continues to thrive as town comes together to enjoy three days of summer festivities

Ipswich Star: Aldeburgh Cinema celebrates its centenary this year but is pictured in 1996 decked out for that year's Aldeburgh Carnival. Picture: CONTRIBUTEDAldeburgh Cinema celebrates its centenary this year but is pictured in 1996 decked out for that year's Aldeburgh Carnival. Picture: CONTRIBUTED (Image: Contributed)

Lights, camera action! Aldeburgh Carnival is celebrating the centenary of the town's cinema as one of the central themes for this year's summer festivities.

As always Aldeburgh Carnival is a three day event culminating in a street procession on Monday afternoon. The fun starts on Saturday which has been declatred music day and a range of bands will be playing at venues and pop-up stages across the town.

There will also be fun activities like 'Is it Water or Is It Wine?' for the adults and a lollipop hunt for the children on the beach as well as children's face painting and a colouring in competition on Moot Hall Green. There will also be a Petanque competition outside the Moot Hall which will give the area a European flavour.

There is also an ongoing silent auction which will become a live event on Saturday and will be raising money to keep the carnival in rude health for future years.

Ipswich Star: Aldeburgh Carnival 2018 Picture: RACHEL EDGEAldeburgh Carnival 2018 Picture: RACHEL EDGE (Image: Archant)

Sunday has been declared Sports Day and the day gets off to a flying start with the annual 10K road race which will take runners on a tour of the town and seafront.

As well as the main mini marathon there will also be a number of children's races including an egg and spoon race and sack race.

An egg boat race is also planned at the model yacht pond with entrants challenging one another to transport an unbroken, raw chicken egg across the water.

The celebrations come to communal climax on Monday with the street procession. The traditional procession, led through the town by carnival queen Poppy Martinez, a 20 year old pyschology and sociology student at Canterbury Christ Church University, begins at 3.15pm at the Moot Hall before heading down the High Street towards Slaughden Quay.

Ipswich Star: Left to right: 2019 Aldeburgh Carnival Queen Poppy Martinez and her attendants Ellen Cooney and Amelia Clements Picture: ALDEBURGH CARNIVALLeft to right: 2019 Aldeburgh Carnival Queen Poppy Martinez and her attendants Ellen Cooney and Amelia Clements Picture: ALDEBURGH CARNIVAL (Image: Archant)

As well as the procession there will also be an RNLI and HM Coastguard air-sea rescue demonstration from 11am. The long weekend comes to a close on Monday evening with a Chinese lantern procession, from 8.45pm, along the high street before the evening ends with a firework display opposite The White Lion Hotel on the seafront at 9.15pm.

Aldeburgh Carnival has been a fixture on the town's calendar since August 29 1892 when 15 events were held - 12 sailing races, two swimming races and a greasy pole competition. One of the big attractions for visitors back then was a race between the East Coast Lifeboats from Aldeburgh, Thorpeness and Dunwich.

Aldeburgh Carnival 2019 runs from Saturday August 17 until Monday August 19.