KFC Nassau is once again ensuring that the quintessential Bahamian cultural show goes on with its second annual KFC Junkanoo Buckets Competition, offering $30,000 in cash and prizes.
Junkanoo artists and enthusiasts of all ages are encouraged to get started on their original headpieces for this year’s competition which will recognize both People’s Choice and Judged winners for both adult and junior categories.
“We were so amazed by the creativity that went into our first competition so we really can’t wait to see what our Bahamian people come up with this year. We are proud to be a brand that honors our local culture in such a significant way as both KFC chicken and these Junkanoo headpieces are handmade with pride right here in The Bahamas,” said Joanne Cates, Marketing Director of Restaurants Bahamas Limited, operators of KFC Nassau.
Last year more than 40 diehard Junkanoos from all over the Bahamas grabbed their paste, crepe paper, tricks and embellishments to create stunning headpieces that incorporated an actual KFC bucket in the construction.
This year, headpieces must incorporate the iconic KFC bucket and depict the KFC brand in the design.
“Even though it wasn’t a requirement last year, we were truly blown away by the creative way so many entries depicted the brand that we decided to make it a requirement this year. We offer so many different much-loved products that we still expect to see unique artistry emerge,” said Cates.
She noted that the headpieces can incorporate either the traditional KFC bucket or the recently released seasonal bucket featuring the late Jackson Burnside’s painting “New Year Risin”. Another change to the rules this year is that in order to level the playing field given the economic challenges many in the country continue to face, KFC Nassau has implemented a size limit on entries.
The competition is officially open to entries until 11:59pm on January 12, 2022 and the People’s Choice voting will end at 11:59pm on January 18, 2022.
Once the competition has officially closed to entries and public online voting, a select group of local and international judges will choose the winners for the judged divisions. The judging panel will include Pamela Burnside, wife of the late Jackson Burnside as well as co-chairs of the National Junkanoo Committee, Kishlane Smith and Dr Dwight Marshall.
Winners for all categories will be announced on January 24, 2022.
“We all know that Junkanoos are notoriously secretive about their designs, not wanting anyone to know what they are working on until the big reveal. Well this year, entrants will have to decide on their winning strategy - do they upload their entries early and maximize the amount of time to garner votes, or do they wait until later on to ensure the competition doesn’t know what their design looks like. This is going to be very interesting to watch and see,” Cates laughed.
This year, first place in both the Adults People’s Choice and the Adults Judged Divisions will win $5,000. Second place will get $3,000 and third place will take home $1,500. In the Junior Junkanoo Buckets People’s Choice and Judged Divisions, first place winners will get $2,000, second place will take home $1,500 and third place gets $1,000.
