The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

CARNIVAL fever is in the Bahamian air and the road march groups are getting their names out, becoming known to the public as they promote their platform for the inaugural Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival next year.

For The Eden Carnival Group members, their aim is to bring unrivalled service and an exceptional experience that will ensure they are remembered for years to come.

The Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival will be an annual event, spanning five weeks, and will kick off on Easter Monday.

The event will feature a series of activities, including concerts, cultural shows, balls and street parades, which will depict all aspects of Bahamian culture and heritage. One week, which next year is from May 3 to 9, will be known as ‘Carnival Week’, when four major events will be staged. A commission, chaired by former banker Paul Major, will oversee the proceedings.

With fun at the heart of their operation, and optimum service as the guiding force, Eden Carnival Group members are confident Bahamians will embrace the concept.

The management team behind Eden consists of marketing, communications and events professionals. Individually, they have worked with local and international companies to execute events and marketing campaigns across various industries including FMG, hospitality and service sectors.

These carnival enthusiasts include Keiani Worrell, Rachel and Derek Allahar, and Janay Pyfrom. Eden Carnival Group will host its official costume release party on October 4 at the Verandah, Westridge.

"We have all been friends for over 15 years and we decided to get together after hearing about the press conference that was held by the carnival commission this year, Keiani Worrell said. "We attended and gathered a lot of information from it. We thought that this would be the perfect opportunity for us to be a part of something that is new to the Bahamas as well as be pillars to this whole Carnival event."

She said being a part of the original plan for the Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival is admirable and it paves the way for young professionals to do the same.

"With Eden, not only will persons be able to purchase costumes to play mass with the band during the carnival, they will also be able to gain access to our all-inclusive events that will be going on leading up to up to the parade. After the costume release party, we will be hosting events from that day on. There is going to be a lot different opportunities for persons to become involved with the Eden Carnival Group. After the launch of our official website, there will be direct links to point people in the direction for ordering costumes,” she said.

Their costumes will be specifically designed and custom made by local designers. Keiani said these designers will create and come up with quality costumes that won't fall apart while they are on the road march getting crazy.

"We are excited about all of the different road march companies that are launching as well. There are a lot of negative comments regarding the whole carnival itself so I feel like the more groups that promote and highlight the benefits of this new event, more persons will come along with it,” she said. She believes Bahamians see that this is just simply a new expression of culture to experience, that they are going to have a different look at it.

"Bahamians don't like things that are new and we like things that are uniquely ours but once they see that this is a benefit, I'm sure things will change. We are hoping that people do incorporate Junkanoo but it is not another Junkanoo parade. It is not like we are trying to be Trinidad or Barbados. We are just going to make it more Bahamian. It is just something that is celebrated around the world that we will now be included in."