Francis wishes carnival was delayed to 2016

Tue, Mar 24th 2015, 12:06 AM

Admitting that the organizers of Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival did an "awful" job in publicizing the event, festival advisor Percy "Vola" Francis said yesterday if he had his way it would have been delayed until 2016. However, Francis, who leads the Saxons Superstars Junkanoo group and is a former director of culture, said he still believes carnival can be a "great success". He told The Nassau Guardian that while he and others will make the best of carnival, he is not "totally pleased" with the planning of the event, which is scheduled for May 7-9.

"I think that we could have done some things better," he said. "I think we did an awful job in actually getting the message to the people and that was one of the first things that the prime minister wanted to do, to actually get the message out to sensitize the Bahamian people about this. I think if we had done this I don't think we would have had this kind of back and forward that we're having now."

Francis spoke to The Guardian after he made similar statements on the Guardian Radio show "Connected" with host Lester Cox. Asked about the timing for carnival, Francis said more time was needed.

"I would have really liked carnival to be 2016 rather than 2015 because time went by so quickly and it's right upon us," he said. "But be that as it may, it's going to be here and the baby is getting ready to birth, and so we're going to have a new mother, a mother of carnival in the world.

"I'm happy for that. Hopefully we can nurture, feed and cause the baby to grow."

Carnival has been marred by controversy, including the organizers' failure so far to lock down an international artist.

The Bahamas National Festival Commission (BNFC) has yet to contract a headliner, even though the headliner is billed as an important feature for the success of the event. Francis said he believes a headliner is important, but he said securing a big name artist would be too expensive. The Cabinet of The Bahamas has also approved the recommendation for a headliner in a bid to attract visitors.

BNFC Chairman Paul Major said recently the number of people at carnival will likely be lower than original projected in the absence of a big name to use for international marketing.

"I don't know if it will induce more people to come [at this stage]; it's just a little late," he said.

Major said there is still the opportunity to attract those impulse spenders. But he said in order to maximize the benefit of marketing, a headliner should have been announced months ago. Francis recommended contracting Trinidadian artist Machel Montano, but acknowledged that some Bahamians may have an issue with that.

As for the criticism that carnival will hijack Bahamian culture, Francis said those fears are unwarranted. He said carnival will be Bahamianized.

"It's going to be a different and new kind of spirit," he said. "People have their own opinions. But it's going to be worth it. We'll see as it goes along, but I think it's going to be a great success."

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

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