Outdoor events and Evaluation

Today, mere hours after our final briefing came a devastating blow. The carnival has been cancelled. After 7 months of intensive work, this project has pushed us to create, to grow as designers, makers and proffessionals to unpredicted heights, and after all that to have it not actually come to fruition is indescribable. It is no one's fault, at the end of the day it is just something that is always a possibility at outdoor events. The weather will always be the deciding factor, and with a severe weather warning the safety of the children is paramount and with most of Weymouth currently flooded there is nothing to be done.

This is a possibility we always knew would be there, but one that I think we all set to the side as out of our hands and ultimately unlikely. But then, that is the main problem of outdoor events. It is not the audience, or funding, or location, the main problem will always be the weather as you can have every single other aspect of a performance planned and perfect and it will still come crashing down if the weather takes a turn. As costumers there is only so much we can do, we can make the costumes as waterproof as possible and give them umbrella's (or in this case poncho's) but with the possibility of a flood there is nothing we can do to quite litterally hold back the tide.

To quote a famous film - 'Everything will be alright in the end... so if it is not alright, it is not yet the end' (The Marigold Hotel for the elderly and beautiful)
There is now talk of a 'celebrations' event in September to give the children the chance to wear their costumes and celebrate their amazing achievement this year. The costumes are still in the schools, with the exception of the dance leaders which I am currently in possession of, and with that in mind all the costumes are being kept and carefully stored away in anticipation.

Despite the cancellation, and even if the celebrations event does not happen, I am still glad that I have taken on this project. If I knew at the beggining that this would happen, I still would have chosen it. This project has helped me to push myself and my designing and become a much better proffessional, and a much better designer then I would have been able to become otherwise. I have been able to meet and work with some incredible people, amazingly dedicated teachers and a wonderful school.