Thousands join Brighton Festival's colourful carnival procession

The Children's Parade, which traditionally heralds the start of the Brighton Festival, gets bigger every year, presenting the opportunity for adults and children to let their creative imaginations run wild.

Thousands of youngsters were dressed in outlandish and carefully-crafted costumes, from insects and shrimps to jars of honey, zebras and Easter eggs.

Castledean Primary School, Lynchet Close, Hollingdean, Brighton, chose the "world cuisine" theme this year. Dressed in Mexican costumes, the youngsters' prize was to lead the parade.

There were 72 schools and community groups behind, with mums, dads, teachers and friends all joining in. The air was filled with the sound of drums, samba bands and whistles.

It was the first time Bob Carden, Mayor of Brighton and Hove, had watched the show. He said: "This one of the things that will stand out in my time as mayor. Those kids are so enthusiastic.

"So much effort has gone into producing these fantastic costumes. Credit must go to the teachers."

Coun Carden's wife Merle, the mayoress, said: "It was fantastic. So much work has gone into it. I shall come here next year."

Journalist Polly Toynbee, chairwoman of Brighton Dome and Festival, was watching the parade from stalls set up outside the Dome. She said: "This is my first year. I had no idea it was so huge and so impressive.

"I have never seen a children's parade like it. I don't know why every city doesn't do it. It brings tears to my eyes. The costumes are amazing, imaginative and inventive."

Lisa Abbott, who was watching with Jim Williams and their daughter Bessie, said : "It is really exciting.

Everyone works so hard. The best thing about it is there is a real sense of community."

Zoe Ball, the TV and radio presenter and one of Brighton and Hove's favourite celebrity faces, was dressed as a giant prawn.

Zoe and husband Norman Cook, aka Fat Boy Slim, were accompanying their five-year-old son Woody and his classmates from Portslade Infants School, Locks Hill, who were dressed as shellfish.

The family had watched the parade before but never taken part. Coombe Road School, Brighton, chose the theme of "bush tucker" as a homage to the reality TV show "I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!", which was showing when the theme for the parade was announced. Youngsters dressed as crocodiles and witchetty grubs to get into the Down Under spirit.

One of the most inventive displays came from Brighton and Hove Montessori School, Stanford Avenue, Brighton, which became El Montessori tapas bar on legs!

The children were individual portions of tapas, with a big plate around their middles filled with olives, sardines, chorizo sausages or stuffed peppers.

Davigdor Infants School, Somerhill Road, Hove, and Hangleton Infants School, Dale View, Hove, both wore "Hungry Caterpillar" attire.

Students from Brighton College Junior School Pre-Prep, Sutherland Road, were inspired by "Brighton rocks" and became sticks of rock, ice creams, seagulls and a helter-skelter.

Pupils from Elm Grove School, Brighton, turned into the Elm Groove Samba Band, while others, carrying a giant gingerbread man, paraded as birthday cakes, fairies and Easter eggs.

Some schools were inspired by storybooks. Taking their lead from Handa's Surprise, Queen's Park School, Park Street, Brighton, dressed as African dancers, zebras and giraffes while carrying a giant giraffe head more than 10ft tall.

St Mary's Catholic Primary, Portslade, drew on the story of Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry And The Big Hungry Bear, while Carlton Hill Primary School, Sussex Street, Brighton, was inspired by The Sugar Plum Tree.

There were liquorice allsorts and a big Bertie Bassett created by West Blatchington Infants School, Hangleton Way, Hove.

Youngsters from Whitehawk Primary School, Whitehawk Road, Brighton, and Moulsecoomb Primary School, The Highway, Brighton, wore bee and honey pot costumes.

The Children's Music Playhouse, Beaconsfield Road, Brighton, became watermelons, while Balfour Infants School, Balfour Road, Brighton, chose to create a giant jam sandwich with pots of jam and bees.

Francis Ashton, a great-grandmother from North Laine, Brighton, said: "It has come on tremendously. I have been here for 29 years. It was originally like a little village show.

"Now it is amazing. The standard of costumes is incredible."

Isobel Downes, from Moulsecoomb, said: "I remember when my kids took part. It was really small then. Now it's fantastic."

Emma Cockerell, 33, of Lewes Road, Brighton, was watching with her children aged four and 18 months. She said: "I have never seen it before. We particularly liked the walking pineapples."

Parents and friends of St Paul's Primary School, St Nicholas Road, Brighton, were dressed as birthday food to celebrate the Brighton Festival's 40th birthday.

Pupils, parents, teachers and friends from St Mary's Hall, Eastern Road, Brighton, were dressed as bananas and hungry gorillas, some just 3ft tall.

Rudyard Kipling School, Woodingdean, had a French theme and carried a spectacular model of the Eiffel Tower.

In traditional Brighton style, there were also political messages. Cottesmore St Mary's, The Upper Drive, Hove, promoted fair trade, while St Nicholas Church of England Junior, Locks Hill, Portslade, inspired by Oliver Twist, carried a sign with the message: "Please sir, can I have some more? 24,000 people die of hunger every day, three quarters of the deaths are children under five."

The parade ended at the beach with four renditions of City By The Sea, the theme song commissioned for this year's festival. It was composed by Mark Chadwick and Matt Savage from Brighton band The Levellers with words by West End lyricist Stephen Clarke. Brighton Festival Youth Choir led the singing The children were conducted first by actress Patsy Palmer, who lives in Kemp Town, Brighton, then Zoe Ball.

They took it in turns to stand in a flag-covered cherry-picker near the Brighton Centre, suspended above their audience.

At the end of the two official performances, hundreds of white balloons were released into the sky.

Patsy, whose four-year-old daughter Emilia and five-year-old son Fenton were in the parade, said: "It was brilliant. The singing was lovely."

From the crane, Zoe said: "What a great song, well done to all the mums and dads for making such great outfits."

After coming down she told The Argus: "I have had an amazing day. It was terrifying going up in the crane but the singing was fantastic. I didn't sing very much because I have a terrible voice."

As Zoe conducted, a huge woolly mammoth made by Brighton Steiner School, Roedean Road, made its way across the beach.

The school's theme was huntergatherers and the mammoth was a reference to the beds of mammoth bones known to be buried under Whitehawk and Kemp Town and the neolithic site on Whitehawk Hill.

Pippa Smith, the festival's head of education who commissioned the song, said the day was exceptional. She said: "It has surpassed our wildest dreams to see the amazing costumes and also this year to find 4,000 children had actually learned the song."

Look out for our eight-page Children's Parade supplement in The Argus today. There is another tomorrow. Also collect three tokens printed in The Argus this week to win one of 5,000 CDs with a recording of the children singing the festival song.