The Span Arts Cheerful Project has said goodbye to a star of the Narberth Carnival Parade; the giant Red Kite puppet that followed Rhiannon and her naughty horse at the head of the procession has been returned to its makers, 1st Narberth Scout Group.

Theri Bailey, one of the Scout leaders, collected the bird which was made by the Scouts in two of a series of workshops leading up to the carnival. The Cheerful Project collaborated with many different community organisations to produce The Mabinogion inspired puppets which created a stir as they were paraded by their makers, friends and family around the town.

Theri said: “Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts had an amazing time making our ‘Big Bird’. It was really inspiring to work with such a creative project and very satisfying for the youngsters to see their creation come to life. They were really proud to show it off in the parade. We hope to work on other community projects like this in the future and want to thank The Cheerful Project for organising this opportunity.”

The Cheerful Project’s remit is to make the Arts accessible to everyone. They have been working with Pembrokeshire based community organisations such as Scouts, Pembrokeshire People First and Pembrokeshire College to offer quality arts opportunities to a wide range of different people.

Following the success of Narberth Carnival and last year’s River of Lights lantern procession, The Cheerful Project and The Lab in Haverfordwest will be organising a further procession in the autumn. There will be a chance to make lanterns in workshops and then participate in an enchanting, lantern-lit, evening parade.

Keep an eye on the Span Arts website and The Cheerful Project Facebook page for details of workshops in the run up to the Lantern Procession which will take place on October 29.

If you would like to get involved either as a volunteer or participant, please get in touch by emailing [email protected] or calling Span Arts on 01834 869323 and asking to speak with someone from the Cheerful Project team. To book onto workshops, visit span-arts.org.uk.