In a shock announcement this week, Penrith’s Lions Club has bowed out of organising the town’s annual May Day carnival after 40 years at the helm.
For four decades the Penrith May Day carnival has provided a day of fun for Penrith people.
Lions president John Rogerson said this week that sadly the club simply no longer had “the capacity” to put together this large-scale event for the town.
The event has become a firm favourite in the town’s annual calendar and this year’s event, held on bank holiday Monday, was no exception.
With the help of a network of local organisations and the local councils, Penrith Lions put on a carnival which attracted thousands of residents and visitors.
“What people enjoying the day will not have seen are the months of hard work that it took to bring the event together,” said a statement from the club.
“This involved not just liaising with funders, entertainers, stallholders and other participants but also many hours of detailed work behind the scenes to ensure that the day was not only fun but, importantly, was both safe and compliant with relevant regulations.
“Over the years the regulatory framework within which the carnival has taken place has steadily become more complex.
“This has been very marked over the last 12 months during which the cost and time involved in ensuring compliance in areas such as health and safety and noise control has increased considerably, as too has the cost of securing public liability insurance.”
In the wake of the 2024 May Day carnival, the members of Penrith Lions Club had undertaken a detailed review of the event.
This has led them to conclude reluctantly that “the demands of the carnival’s organisation now exceed the capacity of the club”.
“With great regret”, they had taken the decision that Penrith Lions Club will no longer take the lead role in organising the town’s May Day celebration.
“Penrith Lions would like to record their grateful thanks to all those who have helped them with the planning and delivery of the carnival over the years,” said the statement.
“Particular recognition must be given to the financial support provided by Penrith Town Council and Penrith BID that enabled the 2024 event to take place and the many hours of hard work freely given by the staff of the town council in guiding the organisers through a maze of administrative detail.
“Lee Quinn of Eden Local and Luke Lamb of Roadsafe have also been very generous with their time and effort in support of the carnival.”
John Rogerson, commenting after the decision had been taken, added: “We would all like to see the carnival continue — but, sadly, we have to recognise that our club simply does not have the capacity that is now necessary to plan and deliver a May Day carnival that meets the expectations of local people.”
