The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE 2017 instalment of Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival is expected to be the final year the event is held in May, as Bahamas National Festival Commission officials view a perennial clash with the Mother’s Day weekend as an unsustainable formula.

The potential date change was one of several observations presented by the Bahamas National Festival Commission (BNFC) as a recommendation being considered as event organisers shift their collective focus to the planning and preparation of the third annual festival.

Additionally, organisers said they are considering the implementation of a deadline for the hiring of international artists - hopefully roughly two months ahead of the actual festival date.

In April, a month ahead of this year’s event, officials revealed that Trinidadian soca queen Destra, Grammy award winning Haitian hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean and Jamaican reggae star Tarrus Riley would perform during the festival’s concert in New Providence.

BNFC Chairman Paul Major said the move could provide organisers a better chance to promote and market the event, which could yield a major increase in the number of persons travelling to the Bahamas to experience carnival.

Officials are also considering incorporating more of Nassau’s coastline and shortening the distance of the Road Fever event to ensure that it finishes on time and doesn’t delay the start of the festival’s concert series as it did in May.

According to the parade’s organisers, the first of the 26 groups due at the Cultural Village was set to arrive at 5pm, however, the Bahamas Masqueraders did not reach the stage-gate until 7.05pm, 35 minutes after the arrival of the BTC title sponsor pace group.

Officials blamed a markedly longer parade route for those delays.

There are also preliminary discussions to redesign the Cultural Village; the establishment of preliminary round for the ‘Junkamania’ concert series; introduce incentives to local recording studios to encourage the production of more Bahamian music year-round and the launch of a year-round programme with buy-in from cruise lines.

Lastly, officials said they also intend to press forward with plans for more private-public partnerships, with the ultimate view being a fully privatised Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival event.

BNFC indicated that professional musicians, caterers, dancers, media houses, production companies, printing companies, security services, sanitation services and other service providers all benefited from the activity spurred this year’s festival.

The total cost of this year’s event was estimated to be $9.8m, with a government subsidy of $8.1m.