Preparations underway at Da Cultural Village

Bahamas National Festival Commission (BNFC) Logistics Manager Adrian Thompson revealed yesterday that the number of vendors at this year's "Da Cultural Village" has been cut significantly.

"This year, we've scaled back the village tremendously," said Thompson, who spoke at a BNFC press conference. "We have over 40 food vendors. We have 15 craft vendors that [are] in the village. Over at Clifford Park, we have 22 food vendors along with four craft vendors."

More than 100 vendors rented booths during the 2015 Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival, according to a BNFC report that was released last June. Last year, the BNFC was forced to reimburse booth fees for some vendors.

Food vendors paid $450 to operate during the festival, while craft vendors paid $300.

In May 2015, BNFC Chairman Paul Major told The Nassau Guardian that around 40 vendors would be reimbursed for their losses after they experienced a severe let down in sales during carnival.

At the time, Major said he and other commission officials observed "low volumes" of people patronizing vendors who were stationed on both the eastern and western ends of the carnival site. He said as a result, around 30 to 40 vendors did not pocket the kind of money they had anticipated.

During the press conference yesterday, BNFC Chief Executive Officer Roscoe Dames said organizers took what they learned last year and applied it to creating a more organized cultural village.

"The village has been kind of scaled [down] compared to last year," Dames said. "So it's a little leaner. Last year, we bought a suit off the rack and this year we tailored, streamlined it and made it a little more custom. I think that's the best way to describe how the operation in 2016 is being managed, and the things that we are producing are the same quality, but it's now going to look like a tailor-made suit."

Dames said, like last year, the village will showcase food, culture, arts and crafts, Junkanoo and Rake 'n' Scrape.

"Da Cultural Village will open at noon every day -- Thursday, Friday and Saturday," he said. "We actually separated the village into two parts. The day part is absolutely free up until 6 p.m. and at 6 p.m. we start charging admission."

- Jasmin Brown, Guardian Staff Reporter

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