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The carnival celebrations in the friendly island of St.Maarten run for two weeks and this year the celebrations will be from April 17 to May 3. Every year the carnival comes to St.Maarten just after Easter. The carnival celebrations begin with the Balloon Jump -up, the first of the jump up parades. The jumps up parades continue until April 30, the birthday of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
The top carnival attractions are the "Jump-Up" parades, comprised of floats, live bands, brightly costumed dancers, and the Caribbean queen pageant are a top Carnival attractions. The carnival features three parades. The first one is the junior parade for children between 6 and 12 years.
The senior parade is for teens and adults. On the final parade day, the participants from both these parades come out once more to display their costumes and enjoy another day of fun and frolic. The ‘jouvert' is the internationally acclaimed event of the carnival wherein the local bands entertain thousands of people. If carnival is an expression of one's culture, the carnival parade is considered to be a cultural revue, the event for merry making and displaying humorous comical figures.
The largest of the processions, the Grand Carnival Parade, features elaborately dressed Carnival troupes winding along a four-mile route. Steel drum bands and comedians from throughout the Caribbean keep the crowd entertained in between the parades.
The annual carnival in the island also features local and international shows, pageants, talent performances, local cuisine and road marches. The opening of the carnival village is celebrated by the balloon jump ups. The carnival village is an area that covers two blocks from Front Street. There are more than 100 food booths inside this area where one can relish conch and dumplings, open-pit barbequed chicken, Johnny cakes and sea moss-the drink made of sea weed and brandy.
In its thirty ninth year of existence St. Maarten's carnival has consistently provided numerous opportunities for social interaction of various kinds, and with more than 100 different ethnic groups gathered together to share in the festivities, it boasts some of the many features that makes the island "the melting pot of the Caribbean."
During the 18 days of the festivities planned for this year's carnival celebration, revellers and enthusiasts can witness and participate in parades, "jump-ups" along with local and international concerts and enjoy the island's local cuisine which sets it apart from any other island in the Caribbean.
The venue, formerly known as the Carnival Village is being transformed, to create a "Festival Village" that provides more added value to the event and although there are less booths than over the last couple of years, SCDF promises no shortage of its "finger licking" foods such us Johnny cakes, salt fish, conch soup, dumplings and of course the traditional BBQ chicken legs and spare ribs. Once the booths are opened, many of the booth holders will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner in addition to many other delicacies.
Carnival is known worldwide as an event that promotes lots of dancing, eating and drinking, and while St. Maarten's Carnival boasts the largest variety in tax free alcoholic beverages to help with the enjoyment, SCDF insists on responsible drinking and strongly opposes underage drinking.
The scheduled events for this year's celebration include eleven (11) local events and seven (7) international concerts that will attract thousands to the island and to the St.Maarten Festival Village. Come and enjoy the rhythms of Calypso, Soca, Reggae, Dance hall, R&B, Zouk, Kompa, Meringue, Bachata, Salsa and Reggaeton live on stage featuring both local and international performers.
Other street Jump-up celebrations include the Opening Jump Up (Thursday, April 17th), the ever popular jouvert' Jump-up around the Great Salt Pond (Saturday April 26 @ 4:00am) and the last lap /Closing Jump-up (Saturday May 3).
Part of the carnival festivities are the competitions for the title of Calypso king or Queen. This competition, the calypso tests are to promote the long traditional art form of the Caribbean among the solo performers, known as calypsonians. The winner of this competition goes up against the previous year's calypso King or Queen in the battle for the new title. Separate junior calypso competition for children is also held. This year the Calypso Monarch competition will be held at the Carnival Village .
The grand finale to carnival is the last lap jump -up, lead by King Momo, the straw figure who reigns over the carnival. The burning of the King Momo signals that the carnival comes to an end. According to the local belief King Momo away the village sins with him leaving the island pure. With the drop in the hotel rates for the summer season, the carnival in the island is a truly amazing experience!
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