SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - Considering the mission of its President to bring Carnival closer to its traditional events, the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) took a step in that direction by replacing two international events with cultural/local events. The foundation also added a free event on the Carnival 2024 schedule.
Faced with cancellations out of its control this season, the SCDF has been forced to fill three nights on the Carnival schedule which was vacated for several reasons. There have also been sever financial fallout due to the cancellations and other outside factors, but, says President of the SCDF Edwardo Radjouki, the foundation cannot be distracted by situations it did not cause, “we can only focus and do what people expect us to do.”
Radjouki explained that the Senior Carnival Queen Pageant will be replaced by a free Booth Holders Night where it will be encouraged to “bring everyone to Carnival Village to experience the biggest outdoor restaurant in the Caribbean.”
SCDF will host its very popular Family Fun Day on Sunday April 28, which was originally slated for an international concert. Instead, the fun day will also feature the Carnival Village Cook-Up and Cock-Up Specialty Competitions. The Cook-Up in 2024 is being presented by PDG and has developed into one of the most anticipated cultural events on the schedule, featuring booth holders competing in a culinary competition.
“The fun day will feature many local vendors, attractions for kids, events on stage and more. When you add all of that to an already busy and attractive Carnival Village, you get a family oriented day that is always a success. So we are very happy to be able to host it for the public once again,” Radjouki said. Entrance price for the Family Fun Day will be US $5.
Finally, the SCDF has replaced the international concert which was scheduled for May 3, with a local/cultural concert featuring iconic St. Martin artist Timo. Entitled “Timo LIVE in Concert”, the night will also feature some well-known legendary local bands and other performances.
“King Timo is one of our most awarded and recognized artists from St. Martin. He can and will give a concert to be remembered and he will give you your money worth. When I talk about bringing our music and culture back to the front, a good way to start is with Timo. This will be a special night for us and he is as excited as we are,” Radjouki said.
Regarding season passes, Radjouki explained that season passes are always non-refundable, however, the SCDF will grant a special discount in 2025 to persons who purchased a season pass for Carnival 2024. Details of this arrangement will be released at a later date. Season passes are still eligible for all shows with the exception of the final show on May 4.
“Replacing international shows, with international shows at this stage is too big of a challenge financially. We are already struggling to fund Carnival 2024. So we had to go with what is financially feasible for the foundation, even though none of this was budgeted for. We have been placed in a very tough position this year, we cannot stress that enough. We cannot sugarcoat it. We will host quality local events with the kind cooperation of stakeholders and partners and the support of the general public which we are counting on,” Radjouki concluded.
The SCDF can be contacted by emailing: info@sxm-carnival.com
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