Baha Mar has signed on with Uniquely Bahamian Boutique, a retail company, to sell its locally-made accessories at the mega-resort.
Baha Mar said that the signing with the local company is part of the resort's ongoing efforts to deliver on its promise to transform The Bahamas, in part by providing opportunities for Bahamian entrepreneurs to participate in the retail experience at Baha Mar.
According to a release from Baha Mar, Uniquely Bahamian Boutique, established in 2000, is a sister company to Jewels by the Sea, a fine jewelry store.
Uniquely Bahamian Boutique specializes in jewelry and other products that have been sourced from local craftspeople and artisans throughout The Bahamas. It will join other retailers in what Baha Mar says will be "a carefully curated collection of locally made products and global luxury brands that reflect the elegant yet authentic lifestyle at Baha Mar".
"We are proud of the fact that as a retailer at Baha Mar, we will create opportunities for small-scale artisans to have access to the world stage in a world-class resort. It means the difference between their craft being a hobby and being a career," said Rory Dean, Uniquely Bahamian's director. "Our vendors will have to get more creative, use higher-end materials and produce bigger, bolder products to appeal to the guests at Baha Mar."
"We are committed to showing the world the talent and creativity of the Bahamian people" added Paul Pusateri, chief operating officer at Baha Mar. "Retailers such as Uniquely Bahamian share this commitment and are a critical part of bringing this vision to life. Together, we will create opportunities for Bahamians to realize their dreams, provide jobs and grow our economy."

STUDENT Danya Dean has earned a top honour, having been chosen to become a member of the National Society of High School Scholars.

The launch of the Bahamas Carnival Song Competition is a “watershed moment” for the music industry, said music industry expert Freddie Munnings Jr. The Bahamas National Festival Commission (BNFC) launched the Song Competition on April 28, giving musicians just over 60 days to produce new music and vie for $50,000 in prize money.

Minister of Youth Sports and Culture Daniel Johnson congratulated the Commission for the introduction of the song competition as a critical component of the Bahamas Carnival. He said the government is putting its energy and might behind investing in culture, and the Bahamas Carnival cultural stimulus package will be the driving force to put culture front and center. The song competition will be a yearlong contest that culminates in an all-star Bahamian concert during the Bahamas Carnival in May 2015.

Chairman of the Commission Paul Major said: “From the very outset of our planning, The Commission recognized that music would play a pivotal role in the success of our festival. We know that we have talented and professional musicians, song writers and producers and we also know that they, for the most part, struggle to economically sustain themselves because of lack of exposure to their material and talent.”

“We are working to provide the stage and opportunity to our music industry as never seen before where all genres of our music can be experienced and produced at a very high quality level.

Much like with the other components of our festival like Junkanoo, arts, craft, dance and cuisine, we are committed to preserving and celebrating our culture while creating sustainable economic opportunities for those in this creative industry,” said Mr Major.

Musicians have until Monday, 7 July 2014 to submit up to three songs for the competition. The winner of the competition will receive a cash award of $20,000. The first runner up will receive $12,500; the second runner $7,500; the third runner up, $4,000.00; and the remaining top 10 finalists will receive $1,000.00 each. The top 25 songs will be produced as a compilation album and distributed locally and internationally.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity for Bahamian musicians. We set out to create a competition that would attract the best Bahamian lyricists, composers and producers and we are confident this competition will achieve just that,” said Mr Munnings, a member of the Commission.

“I agreed to support this venture to look out for the interests of Bahamian musicians, and to ensure real opportunities were created to support the expansion of the industry. Bahamian music should be the most popular music in the Bahamas and globally recognized as part of our cultural brand. Right now it is not and we must do something about it. With the Bahamas Carnival we are taking a major step in the right direction and we know our musicians will be better because of it,” he said.

Percy Sweeting, President of the Bahamas Musicians & Entertainers Union endorsed the initiative, emphasizing that at least 25 Bahamian artists will be beneficiaries of worldwide exposure over the course of several months.

“Even though we would have had song competitions in the past they would not have been as exposed as this one. This will create a sense of rejuvenation. The prize money will attract artists who may have held back before. Artists ought to take advantage of it because it is a great opportunity,” said Mr Sweeting.

All around the world, carnivals are lucrative platforms for recording artists, who perform during their own domestic carnivals and travel around the world to perform at international carnivals. Long after all the carnival events are over, their high energy, party music continues to travel around the world to entertain the masses.

For further information:

Noelle Nicolls

Q-Tech Communications

(242) 325-3047

noelle@qtechcaribbean.com

Mrs. Arlene Nash-Ferguson

Secretariat

Bahamas National Festival Commission

(242) 356-2100

About The Bahamas National Festival Commission

The Bahamas National Festival Commission has been given the mandate to ‘conceptualize, organize and launch’ a national festival whose mission is to embrace all aspects of Bahamian culture and stimulate sustainable economic opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s).

About Bahamas Carnival

Bahamas Carnival is a post-Lenten festival of events, highlighting Bahamian music, art and Junkanoo. It is not a single event: it is a collection of celebrations, concerts, cultural shows and street parades that pull from all aspects of our culture and heritage. During this springtime festival Bahamians will experience a Collage of Culture as they Jump in da Line and Shake up the Streets.