Young people ready for the road at Junior Batabano
Sponsorship cheque handover at George Town Primary School
(CNS Local Life): The vibrant artwork on the T-shirts that will be worn by marshals, teachers, parents and other volunteers at the Junior Batabano Street Parade and Family Fun Day Saturday, 28 April, was created by 15-year-old St Ignatius student Samruddhi Tagalpallewar, who won a digital tablet for her efforts in the carnival’s annual design competition. Also of note is George Town Primary School’s return to the parade after a few years’ hiatus.
Sponsored by Cayman National Bank (CNB) this year, the T-shirt design contest is an initiative that “adds another level of fusion between carnival, culture and the creative arts in local schools”, said a press release from Batabano organisers.
“The Junior Batabano T-shirt competition has been an important creative part of Juniors from its inception, and with Junior Batabano seeing a record participation of some 450 students this year, we are more than grateful and thrilled about CNB’s sponsorship making the production of extra T-shirts possible this year,” said Junior Batabano co-ordinator WendyAnn George.
The competition is extended to all schools on Grand Cayman each year. The design theme for 2018 was “We are Batabano”, and there were more than 100 entries from six schools.
Samruddhi Tagalpallewar with winning T-shirt design
The public can see the winning T-shirt design on parade day from 1pm to 4pm.
George Town Primary School’s return to the Junior Batabano parade was made possible through the sponsorship of Sagicor Life of the Cayman Islands.
The students’ costumes have been designed by Reba Dilbert, who has been working on-site at the school with the assistance of teachers, parent, and students. At the same time, Dilbert has been providing the students hands-on knowledge about costume-making. The primary school’s costume theme is “Rainbows and Sun”, in keeping with the carnival’s overall theme “Splendor of the Skies”.
Sagicor employees have also been assisting with making the costumes for the school’s Batabano entry this year by volunteering their time on the weekends.
Donna Myrie-Stephen, chair of the Cayman Carnival Batabano Committee, which organises Junior Batabano, noting her excitement at the return of George Town Primary and thanking Sagicor, added her gratitude “for the donated time and talent of our very own Caymanian costume designer, Reba Dilbert. It’s wonderful to see our local community come together like this for the ongoing preservation of culture and the arts.”
The parade starts at 2pm by the old Glass House on Elgin Avenue, followed by a dance competition and costume display on the building’s lawn where each school will be competing for the Junior Batabano Band of the Year. There will also be Family Fun Day activities on site until 4pm, including bouncy castles, cotton candy and snow cones and face painting.
On the same evening, the annual “Teen Glow Party” (for ages 13–17) takes place from 7pm to 10:30pm at the George Town Town Hall.
Additionally, the second annual Junior Batabano “Pan on Parade” takes place at Camana Bay today (Friday, 27 April) starting at 5:30pm.
For more information, go to the Batabano website
Meanwhile, the RCIPS has released the following information on road closures for all Batabano events through 5 May:
Insane Wet Fete:
Thursday, 26 April – 6:30PM to 3:00AM
– Harbour Drive will be closed between Shedden Road and Fort Street in order to facilitate preparation.
Friday, 27 April – 6:00PM to 5:00AM
– Harbour Drive will be closed between Shedden Road and Fort Street.
Junior Batabano Parade:
Saturday, 28 April – 3:00PM to 6:00PM
– Elgin Avenue will be closed between Shedden Road and the Glass House.
– The parade travels north from the Glass House on Elgin Avenue, turns left onto Shedden Road, right onto Harbour Drive, Right onto Fort Street, Right onto Edward Street, then continues onto Elgin Avenue and finishes at the Glass House. Officers will be directing traffic on these roads during the parade and motorists are asked to exercise caution in these areas.
Carnival Friday Night Fete:
Thursday, 3 May – 8:00PM to 11:00PM
– Harbour Drive will be closed between Warwick Drive and Fort Street to facilitate preparation.
Friday, 4 May – 6:00PM to 3:30AM
– Harbour Drive will be closed between Warwick Drive and Fort Street.
Cayman Carnival Food Festival:
Saturday, 5 May – 7:00AM to 12:00AM
– Cardinal Avenue and Albert Panton Street will be closed.
Adult Batabano Parade:
Saturday, 5 May – 12:00PM to 6:00PM
– The junction of West Bay Road and the Esterly Tibbets Highway, north of Duke’s restaurant, will be closed from 12:00PM
– The parade will proceed south along West Bay Road from 1:00PM and road junctions will be closed as the parade proceeds.
– As the procession passes closed junctions, these will be re-opened to afford motorists the use of the road to the rear of the procession.
– The procession will continue onto North Church Street all the way to Harbour Drive.
– Harbour Drive (between Fort Street and Shedden Road), Fort Street, Edward Street, and Shedden Road (between Harbour Drive and Edward Street) will be closed to facilitate the parade and following events.
Cayman Carnival Street Dance:
Saturday, 5 May – 6:00PM to 12:00AM
– Harbour Drive and South Church Street will be closed between Fort Street and Boilers Road
Category: Events
Disgusting. This is almost as immoral as Miss Cayman.