Carnival 2013 will run from Friday, April 19, 2013 until Friday, May 3, 2013. "Preparations for Carnival 2013 start now," President of the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) Stuart Johnson proclaimed on Thursday, urging the public to "save the dates" for next year’s festivities.
Fresh off what it dubbed a "very successful fete", the SCDF is wasting no time in laying the groundwork in place for 2013. Preparations for the recently concluded festivities started in June 2011, "But for next year we are not stopping, we are going straight into the preparations while wrapping up some items from Carnival 2012," Johnson said.
The dates as outlined for 2013 will give Carnival enthusiasts, residents and visitors alike, 15 days of Carnival activities for the official period. However, as Easter 2013 falls on March 31, the SCDF has the entire month of April for pre-Carnival activities and other initiatives currently being looked at. "We will get creative," assured Johnson.
Johnson added that every Carnival year offers the opportunity to tweak events and policies for the overall improvement of the Carnival product. "We have been at this for quite some time, but the team of the SCDF takes away something from every Carnival year. As usual we will evaluate Carnival 2012, we will change what needs changing and even eliminate what isn’t working. We are constantly improving or adapting the product," he said.
"One aspect that we will look to expand is our overseas marketing initiatives once funding is received from government. We have a plan in place for Carnival marketing through trade show attendance etc and we are looking forward to exposing our festival to the world through any viable means," Johnson added.
The SCDF team will host a press avail during the course of next week to provide a public wrap-up of Carnival Festivities and additional insight into Carnival 2013.