AFTER two years of doom and gloom one of the brightest and most popular events in the Radnorshire social calendar will return this summer.

Rhayader Carnival organisers have announced the event will return in 2022 – with carnival week running from July 9-17, with carnival day itself being on Saturday, July 16.

It will mark a welcome return to the event calendar for the carnival and carnival week, which has traditionally taken place on the weekend leading up to Royal Welsh Show week. Traffic making its way through Mid Wales for the Royal Welsh are often swept up on the bustling streets of Rhayader on the Saturday of carnival day which are awash with colour and people.

“Rhayader Carnival week is returning this year, it runs from Saturday, July 9, to Sunday, July 17,” said carnival secretary Katy Cronin.

“Having not being able to hold the event for two years we want to come back bigger and better.

“Even though we were unable to hold Rhayader Carnival physically for the last two years, we have held events virtually, while recently the carnival committee were awarded the Ian Charlesworth Calon Award at the PAVO (Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations) Volunteer Awards 2021 for these virtual events.”

The carnival committee celebrated receiving that award in November, presented to them for their efforts during the pandemic.

Despite coronavirus-affected 2020 and 2021 events, virtual festivities attracted families and friends of the town from as far as New Zealand and Switzerland last year, including people from across the UK who would normally visit Rhayader for the big day.

The week-long events included an online treasure hunt, vintage parade, quiz and a hill race. A virtual parade video was also launched with photos from carnivals of years gone by.

Then Rhayader mayor Jane Narborough chose the Davies family as winners of the Pete Vaughan Memorial Trophy for the ‘most outstanding entry of the day.’