‘Anticipating a big crowd and ready’: Ballingup Medieval Carnivale ready for a weekend of entertainment

A weekend of parades, live music and dancers, battles and fire performers will be coming to Ballingup with the Medieval Carnivale making its highly anticipated return at the end of August.

Ballingup Medieval Carnivale committee president Fran Wilshusen said the committee and volunteers had an “interesting” time getting the carnival ready and revitalised in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been an interesting process preparing for the Carnivale, since it’s the first full one back since COVID,” she said.

“We’re reinventing the Carnivale this year and trying to get back where we were before the pandemic.”

She noted the struggles of the 2022 iteration, not having enough resources or being prepared for the large attendance, but said the staff were well-equipped and prepared for this year.

“We didn’t expect it to be as busy as it was last year after COVID but we are anticipating a big crowd and are ready for them,” Ms Wilshusen said.

She said getting new volunteers and members of the Ballingup community involved was a priority in the planning and preparation stages.

“We’re trying to get people who are interested in the Carnivale as a part of the community and get them more involved,” she said. “As with other years, there’s lots of volunteers and bringing new volunteers on board is something we focus on doing.”

Ms Wilshusen said the interest shown in the Carnivale and almost immediate sellout of feast dinners over the two nights indicated that this year’s turnout could possibly be the biggest in the festival’s history.

“I anticipate from the interest shown in this year’s events that this will be the biggest turnout or equal our previous biggest turnout,” she said. “It’s awesome, people are going to dress up, be immersed in the weekend and it’s going to be as awesome as it’s ever been.”

Staff said the entertainment and atmosphere that people loved in the past was there to stay and they had built on the aspects previous festival-goers enjoyed, utilising feedback to make adjustments to the festival activities.

“There will be tickets available at the gate, but it’s preferable to get tickets online,” Ms Wilshusen said.

“You’ll still be able to buy ticket up to the days of the Carnivale and kids tickets are free.”

Tickets are available through the Ballingup Medieval Carnivale website.