Forget politics its carnival!

| 20/04/2009

(CNS):  For those not that over excited about the impending election and referendum there are other things on the Cayman calendar for people to look forward to not least the annual Batabano carnival which takes place between 24 April and Saturday 2 May. In preparation for the big day over the last three weeks LIME in partnership with Appleton and the Batabano Committee have been holding “Happy Hours” at several bars across the island to Cayman into the carnival spirit.  

 

The final warm up event will take place this coming Friday at Calico Jacks starting at 8:00 pm with a great night of entertainment planned.  Several of the Mas Bands will be there showcasing their beautiful costumes, so it will be a last minute opportunity for people to sign up and get ready to play Mas on Saturday 2nd May in the Street Parade.

Barnaby Richardson, Marketing Manager for Jacques Scott said it was a last chance for carnival goers to get ready for the Mas fun “This is the only remaining event before Carnival starts next week and one of the final opportunities for people to get their costumes.  We supported these events as Appleton is the spirit of Carnival and also because we wanted to educate some of our new residents to the islands, who maybe don’t know what Carnival means and give them an opportunity to participate,” he added.

Chair of the Batabano Committee Donna Myrie-Stephen said everyone was looking forward to a fun event on Friday with lots of prizes and surprises. “It’s an opportunity to get a sneak preview of the costumes before the big parade,” she said.

Meanwhile, this past week New Horizon student, Raidez Perez, won the title of designer of this year’s official Jr. Batabano T-shirt. A panel of independent judges, including local artist Al Ebanks, chose Raidez’s design over more than 28 entries. In their submissions for the competition, students were asked to create a t-shirt design that represents the Batabano slogan “All nations’ one celebration” or choose any theme that highlighted the energy and spirit of Batabano.

Raidez’s winning design used animated costumed dancing letters to spell out “Batabano.”

Ebanks said it was a tough decision as all of the entries were very good. ““This design not only showed that the artist has talent, but also creativity and originality,” he said.

Raidez wins an ipod for her winning entry, donated by Mark and Cindy Scotland, and her school will receive a plaque in honour of her achievement.

The calendar of events for Batabano has according to organizers something for everyone from the Junior Carnival and Family Fun Day on 25 April through to the Adult Street Parade and Dance on 2 May. 

Myrie-Stephen, said the committee is delighted with the support offered by the community as a whole. “This is a fantastic time of year and it is a wonderful opportunity for locals and visitors alike to come out and enjoy the festivities as all different nationalities bring their flavor to the festival.” 

One of the signature events is the Masquerade Fete at Pedro St. James Castle scheduled for Thursday 30 April. This year the late Byron Lee will be honoured for his numerous contributions towards the enhancement and development of Batabano. The evening will feature a special presentation by The Dragonaires titled “Remembering the Dragon – Byron Lee”. 

More events on the festival schedule include the Friday Fete on 1May and this year the wrap up event for carnival festivities will be the Coco Fete set for 8 May. For more information on the entire experience for this year simply log on to www.caymancarnival.com

 

Category: Local News

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  1. Anonymous says:

     I want to see Kurt and Big Mac Jumping next year, that would be one heck of a Batabano!!

  2. Whatever! says:

    I wonder if Alden will be out there again in his skimpy shorts?

    Now that will be worth seeing.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Batabano is a waste of time!!!

  4. Anonymous says:

    I’m sorry but what we term as Carnival is an utter joke.  Our festive celebration is not any shape similar to any other type of carnival celebration.  The elements of creativity are extremely poor, and very repetitive. Our ability to party as a society is limited by our fundamental conservative opinions. What exactly are we celebrating at Batabano?  Can someone please elaborate?

  5. Future Vision says:

    Some of the filthy dancing that I saw being displayed by adults in last years so called BATABANO was disgraceful especially for families with their kids watching, now we are saying that our children will be a major part of this madness during this years BATABANO, WOW we are surely a double standard society going down the gutters where the ROMAN EMPIRE went.