PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) released its schedule for Carnival 2013 over the weekend, a schedule that features 22 days of Carnival activities. There will be 17 days of "fettin" from the official opening of Carnival Village on Thursday, April 18 until the close on Friday May 3, 2013. Prior to that however, there will also be five Carnival events held at locations outside of Carnival Village.
The schedule is the longest it has been in a few years and features seven locally themed nights, six international nights and eight road events (jump-ups and parades). The international nights will cover almost every music genre, Soca, Reagge, Zouk/Compas, Latin, Antillean and R&B.
The 2013 schedule also features a US $2 Family Fun & Culture Night. "With this night we wanted to let families come out to Carnival Village to simply enjoy the ambiance and for the kids to have some fun. There will be bouncers on village grounds, cultural entertainment on stage, it will be a fun, inexpensive night," President of the SCDF Mike Granger said.
He continued: "We think Carnival lovers, supporters, or corporate sponsors, will be very happy with this schedule. We've scheduled a little something for everyone, the best that Carnival has to offer. From our Calypso shows to our pageants and highlighted by our parades, Carnival 2013 will be spectacle that nobody, at home or abroad, will want to miss."
As for which artists will be featured on the international nights, Granger said as soon as the respective promoters conclude their negotiations and inform SCDF definitively who the artists are, the public will be informed accordingly. "There will be so much more announcements coming for Carnival 2013 about the various initiatives that will be put in place. Stay tuned for those," Granger said.
The 2013 Carnival schedule:
Saturday, January 26 Unity Jump Up
Saturday, April 6 Senior Calypso Eliminations
Sunday, April 7 Jr. Queen Show & Jr. Road March & Calypso
Friday, April 12 Fete to Fitness Jump Up
Saturday, April 13 Teen & Senior Queen Cultural & Speech Competition
Thursday, April 18 Opening Carnival Village
Friday, April 19 International Night - Antillean
Saturday, April 20 International Night - Zouk
Sunday, April 21 Junior Carnival Parade
Monday, April 22 Miss Mature Pageant
Tuesday, April 23 $2 Family Fun & Cultural Night
Wednesday, April 24 Teen & Senior Pageant
Thursday, April 25 Youth Extravaganza
Friday, April 26 International Night – Soca/Dancehall Blend
Saturday, April 27 International Night - Soca
Sunday, April 28 Senior Calypso Finals & Carnival Honors
Monday, April 29 (4am) Jouvert Morning Jump-Up
Monday, April 29 (8pm) International Night - Reggae
Tuesday, April 30 Grand Carnival Parade
Wednesday, May 1 Second Day Parade
Thursday, May 2 International Night - Latin
Friday, May 3 Closing Jump Up/ Burning King Momo
SCDF Press Release
I love me some carnival, but...22 days of carnival in these challenging times? Is this really our priority?
The village will see me on Calypso Night and other FREE days/nights.