The first Saturday in July will be quieter than usual in Hale without the normal sounds of music and celebration. The Hale Carnival which was set to take place on July 4, 2026, has been cancelled.

The carnival committee made the announcement last week, saying that the carnival would be paused for a year but hoped to be back in 2027 if it could recruit more volunteers, strengthen the committee and plan a stronger and more sustainable event. The lack of volunteers is the key problem so the committee is calling on the community to come forward to help.

Amanda Sergison-Main, the committee’s chair, said: “It was a really difficult decision. We held an extraordinary general meeting and debated for quite some time about what to do.

“We have seven people on the committee and we really need 12 to 14, but we looked at how to adjust the event to make it more aligned with the number of people we have. But there is an expectation from the community about what the carnival will be like and it is hard to make adjustments.

“We tried to make some adjustments with the food tent a few years ago and the feedback was that people didn’t like it. We brought in external food vans and of course the food cost more and we didn’t keep the profits. The whole idea is to create a fun, affordable event which raises money for the community. If all the stalls are run by volunteers, then all the profits can go back into the community.”

Last year the carnival grossed £36,000 meaning that 31 local charities and good causes each received a share of £6,550. This year they will not receive anything.

Amanda said the key need was volunteers. “The volunteer base has dropped and dropped, and at the same time the requirements for putting on an event have gone up so we need more people to help, and ideally some people who have a bit of experience of putting on events.”

Some of the changes in requirements have come about because of Martyn’s Law which was passed last year as a result of the Manchester Arena attack. It requires organisers of larger events to consider how they would respond to a terrorist attack and to take steps to reduce any vulnerability to such attacks.

Amanda said: “There’s been a huge uplift in requirements which will take its toll on the volunteers on the committee, who work full time.

“It is so disheartening when we don’t have support and even getting people to attend some of the small events we put on during the year is a hard sell. We asked people what they wanted and put these on but still people don’t come out.”

The small events will continue during the year, including a quiz night in May, but in the meantime anyone who is interested in volunteering, either on the committee or at the carnival weekend itself. To find out more about or to offer help, contact [email protected]