Marshals for Harwich Guy Carnival 2026

Marshals for Harwich Guy Carnival 2026

Posted for Harwich Festival of the Arts

Posted by Volunteer Essex

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The Harwich Guy Carnival returns on Saturday 31st October 2026 and we are seeking volunteers to help on the day.  The festival has been running for over 150 years and we are delighted to take this on, with floats to delight the family, including the famous big heads.

If you would like to be part of this historic event, we are looking for marshals and helpers along the route of this years carnival which will follow the traditional route from Dovercourt through to the old town.  The parade starts at 6.00p.m Oakley Road /Ainger Road, progressing to Harwich Quay ending around 9.00p.m.  We will need helpers to clear the route, guide participants to their positions and marshal along the route on a rolling shift basis, starting at 5.00p.m.

1. Start Marshals - This role will involve moving barriers into place and directing traffic away from the area where the carnival will form and allowing vehicular floats into the area from the Oakley Road end, telling participants where to line up along the road by their designated number on side of road and that pedestrian participants are kept safe, when vehicles moving in the area.  Marshals will need to remain in place until Carnival has set off at 6.30pm and vacated area before moving barriers to side of road. Marshalls for this role will need to have good mobility and good communication skills.

2. Route Marshals - Working in pairs, we we are looking for marshals to be at each junction along the route as the parade goes through.  Duties would be making sure the public are safe and kept back from the parade, no traffic is allowed from side roads onto the route, co-ordinating with other marshals along the route for start and stop times, liaising with emergency services to open the junctions once the parade has passed safely. The parade is due to end with prize giving at around 9.00p.m so marshals at the Harwich Quay will need to ensure barriers are in place and stay until all the parade traffic has safely moved away

3. Finish Marshals - At the end of the parade we will need marshals to collect the donation buckets to go in the secure van (we may need to do this several times en route) and will need good upper body strength as these can get very heavy.

Full route and junctions are available on request

What skills do I need?

What skills and abilities should I have?

• Be mobile enough to move barriers in and out of place
• Confident with good communication skills
• Able to use own initiative
• Team player with passion and enthusiasm
• Honest and reliable
• An interest in helping the local community and to be able to positively promote the area to members of the public