HUNDREDS of people lined the streets of Rhayader to view the spectacle of the 2018 carnival procession as it toured the town.

Floats and fancy dress entrants lined up in the town’s Smithfield for the judging before the grand colourful procession around Rhayader and Cwmdauddwr bringing traffic through the town to a standstill.

This was the 114th carnival in the town and as always the highlight of the town’s week-long activities.

The award of the Peter Vaughan Trophy for the overall winner went to Peter Pan Neverland as staged by the Evans family of Abbeycwmhir.

The award for the best pair on the day went to Tom and Arthur Jones of East Street and winners of the Audrey Griffiths Trophy which was presented to the winners by Audrey’s daughter Sue Price. The award for the best group at the carnival went to Russian Dolls staged by Anneka Price and family and they were awarded the Margaret James Trophy. After the procession the carnival queen Eilir Thomas was crowned by Ann Davies the consort to the Mayor of Rhayader councillor William Davies.

The carnival queen welcomed visiting queens from surrounding towns including Llanidloes and Newtown.

Highlights afterwards on the Groe in Cwmdauddwr included the Wye Valley Axemen, Dangerous Steve who staged stunts, juggling and motorbike tricks whilst there were a number of stalls with other activities to keep the masses entertained.

The master of ceremonies for the afternoon was Michael Bennett. In all the weather stayed fine and everybody enjoyed the electrifying atmosphere of the day full of colour and fun. The Rhayader carnival week concluded on Sunday with knockout cricket on the Groe in Cwmdauddwr.

The chairman of the carnival committee James Stuart said he thought that overall it had been a fantastic week and he wanted to thank all the committee, volunteers and helpers who made it possible.

He said: “Without them we could not have put the events on.”