Carnevale Mystery Masquerade Rambles Fremantle.

Masked Carnevale revellers took to the streets of Fremantle on Saturday night in a celebration of this annual, ancient festival of disorder as they rambled from Fibonacci Centre via Walyalup Koort and Cappuccino Strip to Clancy’s.

Led by a unicorn, and accompanied by the raucous tones of Swiss Karneval band the Guggeburras, the Fremantle Carnevale cavalcade included figures from the Italian Commedia dell’Arte like Pulcinella and Scarlecchina (leader of the revolting women of Fremantle) and a Green Man cloaked in leaves, a symbol of the rebirth and renewal of Carnival after a two year Covid lockdown in which Carnival events all over the world have been cancelled.

‘Make Carnival, not war’: this year’s Carnival was overshadowed by grim news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, acknowledged in a brief halt at Fremantle’s Monument Hill and an appeal for peace. Carnival’s satirical mockery of political authority manifested this year in a demonic jester figure of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Credit Christine Owen

The Fremantle Carnevale Authority presented this year’s zero budget event following a hiatus since 2016 in the hope that this ancient ritual of renewal can help to ward off the evils of Covid, climate change and war…

Here’s a fabulous gallery of what happened along the way last night as captured by fine photographer Kerry Faulkner.