When the clock struck eight o'clock on Tuesday night, the Bahamian Carifesta Junkanoo team came alive, captivating the attention of the mostly Caribbean audience. "This is just awesome. We have Carnival in Trinidad but I've never seen so much energy exerted in a show before. The girls really can move. I'm going to make it a point to come over for the Junkanoo in The Bahamas," said Kent MacGregor, a native of Trinidad.
As the group made its way along the grounds of The Hasley Crawford stadium, the excited crowd quickly joined in the fun. The group was led by Percy 'Vola' Francis and Bernard 'Gay-ay' Davis who carried the Bahamian banner, followed by the Junkanoo dancers, along with the band bringing up the rear.
"I'm really impressed with the cowbells and the goat skin drums. I just asked a Bahamian in the audience about your festival, and they told me about your Junkanoo. It's a lot of fun," said Joelle Simms, a visitor to Trinidad.
And there was more to the rushout that met the eye. As a result of the Junkanoo performance, there was also a significant increase in the sale of CDs of Junkanoo music.
"We weren't able to secure a boom box to play the CD's that we brought over for sale at the festival and people wanted to hear how the music sounded, so sales for the CDs was pretty dismal. But after the Junkanoo rushout, we noticed an immediate change. People wanted to purchase copies of the CDs of Junkanoo music. This shows the effect that Junkanoo music has on people world-wide," said Angelique McKay, the Bahamas' booth organiser.
Over 120 Bahamians are presently in Trinidad and Tobago representing The Bahamas in The Ninth CARIFESTA festival.
The group, led by Director of Culture, Nicolette Bethel, and Senior Officer, Patricia Bazard, travelled to Trinidad on Thursday, September 21, and have been representing The Bahamas in various activities. The contingent returns to The Bahamas on October 2, 2006.
By: Betty Vedrine, Nassau Guardian Features Reporter
