We were honoured to have produced an official stage at this year’s St Pauls Carnival 2023. This year’s Carnival theme was ‘Learning from Legends’, and from consultation with our Youth Board and the Carnival team, ‘Raising Legends Stage’ was born.

Raising Legends was designed to support Bristol’s emerging artists while providing positive experiences. Artists, DJs, hosts, media teams, and more, all gained a positive experience and were able to immerse themselves into their crafts on the day. One artist said, “I’m very happy to have been a part of it and to be the opening performer to what turned out to be one of the best places in the Carnival to listen to local artists.”

The ACE takeover on the Raising Legends Stage was filled with young people who access our services of all experiences coming together for a moment they should all be proud of. From the studio to rehearsals, to the performance on the day, you would not believe this was some of their first time on stage. And that can not be said without giving a big thank you and well done to the ACE staff that support these young people every week and that worked extra hard getting them ready for the day. The need for positive role models in our community can not go overlooked, as this is how we ensure we raise legends.

We were joined on the day by Jazz, who created a wonderful piece of art. looking at this piece you are introduced to the slogan “Forever Young”, which pays tribute to some young people we lost too soon. If you immerse yourself into the details each letter takes you on a journey through some key elements you may see within the Afro-Caribbean community, Bristol Community all while still honouring, all in Jazz’s signature style. This was accompanied by an equally wonderful poem/song, by Creative Power Town. It is descriptive and honest about the sorrow and pollution that knife crime and the death of a young person leaves upon our community. It then dives into the things that make our culture desirable globally. It finishes with the names of young people lost too soon due to health, knife crime, or heroic acts, and a call for us to be better.

WOW! … that is how I am summing up St Pauls Carnival 2023, Young people witnessing Carnival as we saw it many years ago. After not having a Carnival for 4 years, this was a great way to learn from legends and pass the mantel – we are raising legends.

We would like to thank: St Pauls Carnival, Safer Options, ACE Youth Board, Jasmine Thompson, Creative Power Town, Bridging Histories, Team Love for their lovely volunteers, our amazing hosts: Kado, DaBoothe and Maxx, and Unkle Mykel, and all of the amazingly talented artists and DJs.