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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
THANK YOU – Teacher, Brenda Major (right) accepts Junkanoo costume supplies on behalf of her school’s Junkanoo group, from Monique Leary (left) of the Grand Bahama Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. The Bahamas Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture has provided an abundant of supply for the building of Junkanoo costumes for the upcoming Grand Bahama Junior Junkanoo Parade, set for January 28, 2017. (BIS Photo/Lisa Davis)
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FREEPORT, The Bahamas - Grand Bahamian schools are well on their way to hosting one of the best Junior Junkanoo parades, thanks to assistance from the Bahamas Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.
On Tuesday morning all of the schools expected to take part in the 2017 Junior Junkanoo parade in Freeport were invited to pick up a generous supply of materials needed for the building and the pasting of Junkanoo costumes.
Some 20-25 schools in Grand Bahama are expected to be a part of the upcoming cultural parade, set to take place, January 28, 2017 on Pioneer’s Way, the main downtown street in Freeport.
Monique Leary, Cultural Affairs Officer at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture said that this year’s donations meant more to the Ministry as well as to the recipients for the simple fact that at one point there were serious doubts as to whether or not Grand Bahama would host any Junkanoo parades.
Because of serious damage and devastation to the island caused by Hurricane Matthew, there had been concerns of the possibility of having to cancel the annual parades. However, after meetings with the organizers of both the junior and senior parades, the decision was made to move on with both cultural celebrations, in the face of threatening financial deficits.
As a result, it was also decided that the Junior Junkanoo parade would be more about fun and celebration than about competition.
“The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture wanted to make this year’s parades more about celebrating the fact that Grand Bahama has survived Hurricane Matthew,” Monique Leary said, during the distribution of the supplies to the various participating schools. “I also want to point out that these supplies were purchased before Hurricane Matthew.
“The young people decided that because there were no deaths in Grand Bahama during the hurricane, they wanted to use the parade to celebrate life. Thus the theme for this year is “the celebration of life.”
All of the schools on the island were phoned and invited to collect their costume building material supplies. The products, which included, glue, contact cement, crepe paper, cardboard and white paint were donated by various local companies, along with the Ministry.
Leary said that the supplies will go a long way in taking away some of the financial burdens on the schools to adequately prepare for the parade.
“Yes, we are trying to rise up out of devastation here in Grand Bahama, but the whole idea is to still preserve our culture,” Leary added. “This is just a small gesture by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture to help preserve this very important aspect of our culture in our society. The financial aid isn’t there, but the Ministry wants to ensure that the program continues to survive.”
Not only are the junior “Junkanooers” being supplied with the basic materials needed to create their costumes, they will also be offered help in the creation of such costumes. As a part of the preparation members of the various senior Junkanoo groups on the island have offered their services and expertise to the youngsters and will be working very closely with the youngsters to prepare their costumes for the upcoming parade.
There were plans to host a number of workshops on costume design for the youngsters, but the devastation of Hurricane Matthew forced the cancellation of those workshops.
JUNKANOO SUPPLIES – The Grand Bahama Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, along with local sponsors, provided a bulk supply of material needed for the creation of Junkanoo costumes. The material was given to all of the schools taking part in the upcoming Junior Junkanoo parade, set to take place on January 28, 2017 on Pioneer’s Way in Freeport, Grand Bahama. The supplies have helped to alleviate some of the financial burdens that were on local organizers due to the recent devastation to the island by Hurricane Matthew in October of this year. This year’s junior junkanoo theme is “a celebration of life”. (BIS Photo/Lisa Davis)
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“So, we were happy to hear that the members of the senior groups have taken up the responsibility of going to the various schools and working with the kids in putting together their costumes from start to finish,” said Ms. Leary.
The Ministry has stepped up to assist the City of Freeport Council, who, over the years, has been responsible for ensuring that Junior Junkanoo makes it to the main street of Freeport. However, because of financial constraints of the years, hosting this year’s parade had become a mammoth task.
“The Ministry is happy to be able to step in and assist, because we know that we, as a Ministry, must keep this cultural aspect of our youngsters thriving,” added Leary. “The teachers and coordinators for the junior groups have expressed gratitude for this gesture, because they were concerned about how the parade would survive this year.”
The Ministry’s donation has not been just to the government schools, but to private schools as well and covers participants from kindergarten to pre-school, junior and senior schools. The donation is in addition to the seed-funding for each group, which also came from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. The Ministry will also provide transportation for the schools to get their costumes to the main street on the day of the parade.
“I am so proud of the schools in Grand Bahama and the relationship which the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture has with these schools and the coordinators and the Principals to be able to come together and ensure that these children continue to look forward to this cultural expression,” said Ms. Leary.
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