Three guided walks, Caribbean suppers, pub takeovers and a brand new calypso written specially for the occasion. Yvette Reinfor of More Curricular CIC discusses Carnival 60, the six-month programme marking sixty years of Europe’s largest street festival.
When the first Notting Hill Carnival procession moved through the streets of west London in 1966, few could have imagined what it would become. Sixty years on, it attracts millions of visitors each August Bank Holiday. It stands as Europe’s largest street festival, a celebration built by the Caribbean community that made Notting Hill its home. Carnival 60 aims to honour that history properly, not as a single event but as a season-long commemoration.
Produced jointly by Notting Hill Walks and heritage education organisation More Curricular CIC, Carnival 60 is a six-month programme running from May to October 2026. Through guided walks, talks, exhibitions, workshops and Caribbean suppers, most of them based at Mason & Fifth on Woodfield Road in Westbourne Park, the programme explores how a community festival born out of the challenges of the 1950s and 1960s evolved into a globally recognised cultural landmark.
At the heart of the project is Yvette Reinfor, founder and director of More Curricular CIC. Born in Hammersmith, west London, to a Tobagonian mother and Trinidadian father, Reinfor grew up immersed in the culture she now works to preserve. She played mas with Cocoyea in the 1990s, long before she began sharing Carnival’s history with wider audiences.
The community interest company delivers heritage education projects across London through walks, quests, workshops and exhibitions. Reinfor has spent the past five years leading heritage walks in Hackney, Wandsworth, Westminster, the City of London, and Kensington and Chelsea. Carnival 60 represents her most ambitious undertaking to date, developed alongside fellow directors David Mukasa and Beatrice Ntim.
“Carnival 60 is an opportunity to celebrate the people, places and stories that have shaped Notting Hill Carnival over six decades,” says Reinfor. “We wanted to create welcoming spaces where people can learn more about the heritage and cultural significance of Carnival, and where the elders who built it can tell their own stories in their own words.”
FULL AUGUST PROGRAMME
Most events take place at Mason & Fifth, 11 Woodfield Road, London W9 2BA, and can be booked through the Carnival 60 Eventbrite collection.
Saturday 1 August — Whose Hill? (Guided Walk)
11:00am · 60 minutes · Notting Hill Walks · £10
Saturday 1 August — Afro-Caribbean Fusion Supper
6:00pm to 9:00pm · Conservatory, Mason & Fifth · Four-course dining experience featuring Haitian and Gambian cuisine by Chef Calycha of Okap a Kaly
Tuesday 4 August — Carnival Is 60. What’s Next? (Pub Series Talk)
7:00pm to 11:00pm · The Prince Bonaparte · £10
Hosted by Ansel Wong CBE, with panellists Kris Parker, Symone Williams and Anthea Hudson. Includes live calypso and spoken word performances by Alexander D Great.
Saturday 8 August — Caribbean Heritage Supper
6:00pm to 9:00pm · Conservatory, Mason & Fifth · Four-course dining experience by Chef Zara Johnson of Goûté Bon
Sunday 9 August — Notting Hill Walk
11:00am · 90 minutes · Notting Hill Walks · £10
Tuesday 11 August — Bumbu Rum Tasting (Pub Series)
7:30pm · The Mitre, Holland Park · £25
Wednesday 12 August — What It Means to Be Caribbean (Panel Discussion)
6:30pm to 8:30pm · Conservatory, Mason & Fifth · £6
Featuring Eugene Dusauzay, Zara Johnson, Samuel Shervington and Symone Williams.
Sunday 16 August — The Frontline (Guided Walk)
11:00am · 75 minutes · Notting Hill Walks · £10
Wednesday 19 August — Whose Hill? (Guided Walk)
6:00pm · 60 minutes · Notting Hill Walks · £10
Saturday 22 August — Notting Hill Walk
11:00am · 90 minutes · Notting Hill Walks · £10
Sunday 23 August — The Frontline (Guided Walk)
11:00am · 75 minutes · Notting Hill Walks · £10
Sunday 23 August — Dr Claire Holder OBE in Conversation
2:00pm to 4:00pm · Listening Lounge, Mason & Fifth · £6
Former Chief Executive of Notting Hill Carnival (1989-2002).
Tuesday 25 August — Walk & Pub Grub (Pub Series)
6:00pm · The Ladbroke Arms
A 90-minute guided walk followed by fish and chips at the pub.
Wednesday 26 August — Notting Hill Carnival: Past, Present, Future (Panel Discussion)
6:30pm to 8:30pm · Conservatory, Mason & Fifth · £6
Featuring Leslie Palmer MBE, Rosita Lynch, Linett Kamala and Alexander D Great, plus screenings of three short films.
Thursday 27 August — Whose Hill? (Guided Walk)
6:00pm · 60 minutes · Notting Hill Walks · £10
Saturday 29 August — Notting Hill Walk
11:00am · 90 minutes · Notting Hill Walks · £10
Saturday 29 August — The Frontline (Guided Walk)
2:00pm · 75 minutes · Notting Hill Walks · £10
Sunday 30 August to Monday 31 August — Notting Hill Carnival 2026
All day · Notting Hill (W10/W11) · Free admission
Marking 60 years since the first Notting Hill Carnival took place in 1966.
