The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture 2024 E. Clement Bethel National Arts Festival got off to a melodious start in Grand Bahama on April 8 at the Belinda Wilson Convention Centre.

The annual platform allows students and members of the public from throughout the country to showcase their talents in music, drama, dance and visual artform in national competition.

A team of nine Ministry officials are on island to adjudicate the performances from 30 private and public schools, which includes bands in pop, jazz, rake ‘n’ scrape and junkanoo, over the two-week period.

The music division encompasses choral singing, solos in female and male voices, gospel, Bahamian, pop, rhythm and blues, jazz, theatre, Broadway, folk, rap and acappella songs.

In the Dance division, the entries range from classical ballet, to Bahamian folk, international folk, modern, jazz, liturgical, choreographed dance, drama to popular dance.

The drama segment of the festival has entries from first graders, all the way to high school in individual and choral verse speaking, dramatized characterization, storytelling, origination poetry, spoken word to skits.

Additional categories include triple threat, a compilation of music, dance and drama, as well as woodwinds, brass, keyboard, recorder, drumming, DJ sampling and photography.

The festival also has an open category in which members from the community from aged two to adult can enter and compete.

A number adults from the community have entered this year’s competition in the music and visual art divisions.

The E. Clement Bethel National Arts Festival is being held in Grand Bahama through April 19, 2024.