SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) - The Grand Parade for Carnival’s 50thanniversary will feature a record 27 registered troupes of all sizes, while the Junior Parade will feature 4 troupes followed by a Cultural Parade right behind it. The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) on Thursday said it is “beyond excited” and “extremely grateful and proud” to see so many decide to join in the anniversary parade.
The Grand Carnival Parade will start at its usual starting point at St. Johns Estate, down L.B. Scot Road, Bush Road, over Prins Bernard Bridge, Pondfill, turn at what is still called “Old van Dorp”, take Frontstreet, Emmaplein, around the Sundial round about then end at Carnival Village. The parade will begin at 10am on April 30. The second day parade or Labor Day Parade on May 1, will begin at 12 noon. The trucks will line up along Pondfill just after the Sundial round about.
The Junior Parade on April 28 will feature 4 medium to large troupes, with a little extra at the tail end. In collaboration with the Department of Culture, onlookers of the parade will also be treated to a Cultural Parade being organized by Clara Reyes and her team at the department. The SCDF expressed many thanks to Reyes and her department for stepping up and answering the call of culture for the parades.
President of the SCDF Alston Lourens said Reyes is well known for bringing out the best of any cultural event and it was important to the foundation that this aspect be incorporated with the children parade in particular.
As for the Grand Carnival Parade, Lourens said the amount of registrants even caught the foundation a little off guard but “we are not complaining.” He added: “Several troupes leaders were making plans long before 2019 and we didn’t know about it. So it was a nice surprise in the anniversary year when all of the registrations started to roll in.”
He said that many people who used to take part in troupes in the past have also decided to participate this year for Carnival 50. “So many revelers who hung up their jamming shoes told us they will be back on the road for this year. That’s the Carnival spirit we love and we hope it carries over to other years.”
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