The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH yesterday’s Junkanoo parade did not end on a victorious note for the Saxon Superstars, group representatives say members are still thankful for their second-place finish and are planning to meet as early as Friday to discuss the way forward.

Kendenique Campbell- Moss, the group’s public relations director, spoke to The Tribune hours after the unofficial New Year’s Day results were announced.

While One Family was crowned as the unofficial victors of the 2023 parade, Saxons came in second place.

It was a big improvement for the group after coming in fifth place at the 2022 Boxing Day parade.

Still, Mrs Campbell- Moss admitted that there was some disappointment among group members that they did not win certain categories like best music and best overall performance, which went to One Family.

The Saxons’ theme, called “The Bahamas Celebrates 50 - Our Golden Jubilee” centred on the nation’s upcoming independence celebrations.

“We were hoping for the best possible outcome, but we were able to capture the number two spot,” Mrs Campbell-Moss said. “We are disappointed that we did not capture music and overall posturing. However, the Saxons, they’re very happy that we did capture the second place for the New Year’s Day Parade.

“We also want to extend congratulations to the winners of One Family and to all the other Junkanoo groups that would’ve participated and we look forward to an evolution and a complete change in how we bring Junkanoo to the world in the new years to come.”

At last week’s Boxing Day parade, the group encountered several challenges that affected their performance, including the weather and being first in the line-up.

Yesterday, Mrs Campbell-Moss told The Tribune she was very pleased with their road presence this time around, adding that “we performed to the highest point that we could’ve”.

She added: “We were not able to hold on to the ring, but we came, we performed, and we did our very best. There was unity. There was cohesiveness. We tried to bring it home. We didn’t quite get it, but we did a good job nonetheless.”

The Saxons won the 2019 Boxing Day Parade and the 2020 New Year’s Day Parade.

With their recent losses, the group now plans to do some internal assessments to see how they need to improve before the next holiday parades.

“The very first meeting is Friday for us to galvanise and to think outside of the box as to what we need to do logistically and what we need to do cinematically and what we need to do in terms of theme and processes of getting the group to the next level so as early as Friday, we are back in the shack,” Ms Campbell- Moss said.