For the first time, Catwalk Productions International and the St Paul's Bay Local Council organised the Malta Summer Carnival that took place this weekend along the Bugibba Promenade and in the Bugibba Square. Malta abolished the May carnival 22 years ago, and this has been the first summer festival for many years, although it does not replace the main celebration in February.
The carnival attracted thousands of Maltese and visitors from nearby areas who filled the seaside town, with most of them in outrageous carnival costumes with absurd masks known as maskaruni. To entertain the masses, eight decorated carnival floats paraded through the streets along with over 500 magical dancers from various dancing groups who performed for hours. The traditional gostra was also present, which is a greased pole placed over the sea, which people climb in order to have the chance to catch the three flags at the top to win prizes.
The carnival benefitted from special funds allocated to the local councils to organise special activities, declared Parliamentary Secretary, Chris Said, who continued to explain how the carnival "experiment" in Malta helped the several commercial outlets in the area.
