Juniors ready to hit the road for Batabano
Participants in last year’s Junior Batabano parade (Photo by Picture This)
(CNS Local Life): Now in its 15th year, Junior Batabano is set to hit the streets of George Town on Saturday, 29 April, with eight local schools, two junior masquerade bands and more than 300 children and teens joining the parade. “From the Batabano planning committee and costume designers, to the school teachers, parents and, of course, the students, everyone involved is very excited about being part of this milestone year with Junior Batabano,” said Wendy George, who has been coordinating the event since its inception in 2002.
“This year will see more students and young people participate than ever before, which we think is testament to our steadfast commitment to provide a family-friendly carnival experience for the young people in Cayman for the past 15 years.”
The following schools and groups have confirmed their participation in this year’s parade: Cayman International School, St Ignatius Catholic School, Red Bay Primary School, Savannah Primary School, Prospect Primary School, Clifton Hunter High School, Flow and the Cayman International Girls Beauty Pageant.
This year’s overall costume theme is “It’s a Jungle Out There” by costume designers Richard Bartholomew and LaToya Als. Each junior mas band’s theme will represent various elements of the jungle, including waterfalls, Tarzan and Jane, chameleon, cockatoo, cheetah, python and Lion King.
The event starts with family fun day activities on the lawns of the old Glass House on Elgin Avenue at 1pm, which will include games, food, mask decorating, face painting and horse rides. Acrobats and stilt walkers will provide the entertainment.
At 3pm the young people will wind their way from the Glass House through the heart of George Town and back, showing off their costumes.
Junior Batabano bands are competing for the following prizes this year: band of the year, second runner up, third runner up and spirit of Junior Batabano.
In addition to the parade, the Cayman National Bank steel pan concert will be held on Friday, 28 April at The Crescent at Camana Bay 5:30pm, with the annual teen glow party taking after the parade on Saturday, 29 April at 6pm at the South Sound Community Centre.
Chairperson of the Cayman Carnival Batabano Committee, Donna Myrie-Stephen, said: “We’re thrilled to see Junior Batabano reach its 15-year anniversary with so many schools, families and local businesses continuing to put their support behind this cultural experience for our young people, because they really are the future of Batabano. We sincerely thank all Junior Batabano supporters for helping us reach this significant milestone, and we look forward to your continued support.”
Category: Events
