Bahamians end one year and start the new one with the country’s captivating Junkanoo Festival. But the extravaganza holds such enormous potential as a major tourism attraction and revenue earner for the archipelago, that a group of carnival enthusiasts is working to transform the annual event and equip other festival organisers in the region to maximise the potential of these cultural activities.

Founder of the Junkanoo Commandos and the group’s project manager Angelique McKay has been a key figure in Bahamian cultural and festival pursuits, providing expert advice to the Government on cultural development.

While acknowledging that The Bahamas has enjoyed some success with the festival that celebrates its West African ancestry, McKay has been relentless in her push to have Junkanoo Festival significantly expanded and structured over a much longer period.

Having secured US$90,000 in support from the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) Cultural and Creative Industries Innovation Fund (CIIF) through its festival tourism accelerator, the Junkanoo Commandos will work with industry experts across the region to provide specially designed festival production training.

McKay explained: “This project is going to bring about a significant amount of change within the region relative to festival execution and our ability to maximise various aspects of the arts.

 “It will engage participants in best practices for festival development and execution. Participants will also be empowered by being exposed to methods of data collection and interpretation of that data so that they can make necessary adjustments for greater exposure and revenue generating possibilities.”

Some 30 participants from The Bahamas and other Caribbean countries who are either already in the business of festival production or interested in the business of culture will benefit from the sessions.

Expert cultural practitioners and academics have been assembled to present the programme, which will be certified by a tertiary institution.

McKay disclosed that a call for applicants will be made very shortly, while the group’s core team of resource personnel works diligently  to ensure readiness for an early 2022 commencement.

Excited about the prospects of the initiative, the cultural industries consultant added: “The impact that this project will have on the region including The Bahamas is far reaching. We want to better highlight the culture of their countries as a tool to entice and hold international, regional and domestic visitors to their respective islands for the events and festivals that they offer. . .  and increase their economic returns.”

Like most national cultural events in the Caribbean, the Junkanoo Festival was cancelled for two consecutive years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The accompanying social and economic impacts of festival’s absence have been felt acutely by those involved in its staging and consumers of the entertainment and cultural products.

McKay noted that the Junkanoo Commandos remained committed to sustaining and expanding the festival, to the extent that the group initiated its own festival.

“We created our own event called The Bahamas Junkanoo Art and Music Festival. We launched in 2019 and we were able to host it also in 2020. It was the last festival to take place prior to COVID lockdowns. The goal is to bring visitors to that event to experience Junkanoo in a festival setting. We know that with festivals it can take a while to realise a profit. But within those two years we broke even, and we did so without Government support,” she stated.

Emphasising the impact of the cultural industries, McKay insisted: “We are losing millions of dollars by not tapping into this market. I have been agitating for extension of our Junkanoo Festival. It has the capacity to earn so much more.”