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Boxing Day Junkanoo Parade

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune staff

By SYANN THOMPSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

sthompson@tribunemedia.net

FORTY percent of tickets for the New Year’s Day Parade are sold and the JCNP is hoping to push sales to encourage the public to support the upcoming parade.

With back-to-back junkanoo parades to promote, Dion Miller, Chairman of the Junkanoo Corporation of New Providence (JCNP), said that each year the New Year’s Day parade tickets sell slowly as there are other competing events. “We realise that around this time ticket sales end up being down, people go to church, go to parties and then end up not coming to junkanoo afterwards. It’s about forty percent sold already. So, this is why we went and did the car thing to boost ticket sales. It’s important for us to get tickets sold as this is what we use to give groups prize money,” said Mr Miller.

The discussion of narrowing the annual junkanoo parades down to one parade to become more viable was in discussions some time ago, but Mr Miller said this is a topic that junkanooers themselves will have to decide amongst themselves.

Nevertheless, Mr Miller is happy about the full participation and performance of junkanoo groups during the recent Boxing Day Parade. As The Bahamas has had a difficult year, especially with Hurricane Dorian,Mr Miller said the solidarity and commitment of junkanoo groups has been unwavering. “In terms of sponsorship it has been a rough year, and that primarily is due to Dorian. The sponsorship that normally assists had to step up to help our fellow Bahamians affected by Hurricane Dorian and so junkanooers had to swallow that tough pill and realise that there are bigger things money has to go to and we understand that. Some companies did decrease their sponsorship to the groups, nevertheless groups held their fundraisers and did what they had to do to make it to Bay Street,” said Mr Miller.

He added, “The groups all came out, they participated and put on a show despite the off-and-on rain. The groups also improved with minimising the gaps between each other. Overall I think it was an excellent parade.”

The JCNP is hoping to encourage the public in securing tickets for the New Year’s Day parade by offering a free Nissan Note car and two flat screen TVs. Purchased tickets are automatically entered for the drawing.

This year the JCNP launched their online ticketing in partnership with SunCash online at junkanootix.com and tickets can also be purchased at JCNP’s office from 10am to 6pm.

The New Year's Day Parade starts at 2am.