GRAND LAUNCH The Bahamas National Festival Commission will launch Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival in Grand Bahama on Friday, November 28, which will culminate with the unveiling of The Grand Bahama Cultural Carnival Company’s 'The Grand Life' Costume in the Count Basie Square of the Port Lucaya Marketplace.
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Freeport, Grand Bahama
Island -- The
countdown to Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival is on and with the event now just six
months away, Grand Bahama is gearing up to roll out its costume line with an
official launch party on Friday, November 28.
The Right Honourable Prime Minister Perry G. Christie will travel to the
nation’s second city for 'The Grand Life' Costume Unveiling by The Grand Bahama
Cultural Carnival Company in the Count Basie Square of the Port Lucaya
Marketplace beginning at 8:00 p.m.
Bahamas
Junkanoo Carnival is a three-day event set for May 7-9, 2015 and is
expected to rival the 200-plus other carnivals around the world. It is also anticipated to help to rebrand the
country as a viable entertainment destination.
Prime
Minister Christie visited Grand Bahama in August and delivered an impassioned
speech to corporate Grand Bahama at a special luncheon on his vision of Bahamas
Junkanoo Carnival and how necessary it was to have their support, “This is
going to be an extraordinary event in the calendar of The Bahamas.”
Since
then, there was the formation of the Grand Bahama Cultural Carnival Company
(GBCCC) by local Junkanoo groups and authentic
Bahamian product providers on island in an effort to become a premier Carnival
Company in The Bahamas. Its objective is
to foster community development while, at the same time, utilizing culture to
create entrepreneurs.
Grand
Bahama businessman Peter Hunt was the first to provide funding to each of the
Junkanoo groups for the creation of prototypes for the carnival costumes which
will be sold by the GBCCC under ‘The Grand Life’ theme. His gesture was
followed by businessman Mario Donato, who sponsored a prime shop space location
in the Regent Centre in Downtown, Freeport, for the business operations of the
GBCCC and sale of costumes and authentically Grand-Bahamian products.
ParrisWhittaker Counsel and Attorneys at
Law has also come on board to provide pro bono work for the GBCCC.
Come
Friday, November 28th, The Bahamas National Festival Commission, in
conjunction with the GBCCC, will be celebrating the launch of Bahamas Junkanoo
Carnival Grand Bahama Island.
The
GBCCC will be pulling out all of the stops and showcasing
its signature costumes for the grand Carnival party in May, which is anticipated to
position The Bahamas’ rich culture at a new level on the world stage with an
economic boost to the island of Grand Bahama.
The
two-hour event on November 28th will transform the Count Basie
Square into a magical, carnival tribal wonderland with the pulsating sounds of
authentically Junkanoo rhythm and the energetic performance from Stileet.
Grand
Bahama will jumpstart the Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival festivities with “The Grand
Life” experience during a two-day celebration on April 17 and 18, inclusive of
live concerts, a midnight rush and beach party.
A press conference held on November 27th in Freeport. Photo: Derek Carroll.
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