If there was one thing most people looked forward to during the summer period -- other than school being let out -- was the Goombay Summer Festival. It was the place for great entertainment, meeting up with friends and delicious food through the 1970s and into the 1990s before it died out. It was a festival most people of a certain age set have fond memories of. It's those wonderful times and memories that the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation wants to bring back and to give to a new generation.
Goombay Summer will take place August 10-12 and will encompass a street party on Woodes Rodgers Wharf, a beach party on Saturday and a legends on the bay day at Blu Restaurant, offering something for everyone. And the entertainment is expected to be stellar with limbo dancers, steel pan players, Goombay dancers, stilt walkers and jugglers and a performance from the Emanji circus. Performances from some of the country's best musical entertainers -- KB, Veronica Bishop, and The Spank Band will be the order of the day. It's all about relaxing and having a good time at the Goombay Summer festival.
The festival is scheduled to be held on August 10-12 will take you way back to experience the Goombay summer of times past, with some exciting additions to make this weekend's festival an event not to be missed. Kendenique Moss, senior executive at the ministry said the festival will provide a sense of nostalgia for some people, but also provide new experiences. "For those persons who would have been around, it will be reinvented and bringing something new to the table.
People will be able to take a walk through history and let the festival take you back to where you once were," Moss said of the once popular festival. "The festival has died off but we are reintroducing it and reinventing it to bring life back to Bay Street," she said. "Goombay Summer has historically been an awesome festival and we have just added some new characteristics to make it even better," she said. Flipping the script, the ministry is bringing the festival to the heart of the city. Downtown Nassau will come alive with everything you need for a good ol' down home time.
"The young people who weren't around for the [festival's heyday] can see what Goombay is all about." With its exciting additions, the festivities at tonight's street party which takes place from 12 noon to 8 p.m. will resemble a New Orleans Bourbon street festival -- but will have all of the down-home flavor associated with what is uniquely Bahamian -- music, food, dancing, Junkanoo and trinkets, making it an event that's fun for family and friends.
The festival will begin on Friday, August 10, at 12 p.m. on Woodes Rodgers Wharf and will include a Junkanoo Parade, stalls set up for traditional Bahamian finger foods, musical entertainment from KB, Veronica Bishop, The Spank Band and much more. Patrons can meander through the streets of downtown and immerse themselves in traditional Bahamian culture. The mind-blowing acrobatic performances by Emanji Circus will also provide entertainment for the kids and adults alike. Not to be outdone, the festival will continue on Saturday with a beach party on Long Wharf Beach from 12 noon to 8 p.m. It's there where patrons can enjoy the performances from limbo dancers, and live music from the country's best.
A deejay will also be spinning tunes. The weekend of fun doesn't end on Saturday either, but continues with golden oldies Sunday entertainment at Blu Restaurant on Elizabeth on Bay, where they will feature live performances of oldies but goodies. "After church you can bring the family by to eat hors d'oeuvres and enjoy the performances. It's a lazy summer afternoon kind of thing and you can only come down to experience it.
It's all about relaxing and having a good time with the best Bahamian delicacies and the best Bahamian music," said Moss. The schedule Goombay Street Party Where: Woodes Rodgers Wharf When: Friday, August 10 Time: 12 noon - 8 p.m. Cost: Free Saturday Beach Party Where: Long Wharf Beach (Junkanoo Beach) When: Saturday, August 11 Time: 12 noon - 8 p.m. Cost: Free Legends on The Bay Where: Blu Restaurant, Elizabeth on Bay When: Sunday, August 12 Time: 2 p.m. - 9 p.m. Cost: Free
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
