Children are being encouraged to come up with an imaginative theme for next year’s Ilkley Carnival.

Organisers of the popular event are asking school pupils for suggestions of something weird, wacky or wonderful as they begin to plan the 2013 event.

Ilkley Carnival Committee members have this week written to schools in the town asking children for their help with the main theme for the carnival, which will take place on May 6.

Carnival committee chairman, Andrew Stacey, said: “There are a number of ways to collate ideas, such as involving the school council where they could distribute a questionnaire or by introducing a suggestion box in school – any way teachers feel they will get the creativity of their pupils going.”

Themes from previous years include children’s literature, nursery rhymes, heroes and villains and ‘our wonderful planet’, while ‘The Summer of Celebration’ was the theme for this year’s event.

Ideas will be collected by November 23, with the most popular uploaded on to the Ilkley Carnival website. People can then vote for their favourite, with the winning theme being announced in December.

Ilkley Carnival was established to raise funds for social projects to benefit generations of schoolchildren. About £80,000 has been raised in the past 15 years and ploughed back into local groups. Last year, £3,800 was raised for good causes and the 2013 target is £10,000.