The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation SCDF will this week announce its public preparations for Carnival 2013, having put certain things in place behind the scenes over the past few months.
President of the foundation Stuart Johnson on Tuesday said while the public has had time to recuperate since the close of Carnival 2012 in early May, the work for the board of the foundation continued and is about to be taken to the next phase of preparations.
This phase will include the announcement registration dates (with deadlines) for all Carnival related events, in and outside of Carnival Village. This announcement should come later this week or early next week. The SCDF will also launch part of its marketing for Carnival 2013 in September including the launching of a brand new website to compliment the foundation’s very popular Facebook page.
The SCDF also has a number of new initiatives in the planning to facilitate the viewership requests from persons abroad for local events. More information on the latter will be announced in due time.
Merchandising will also play a big role in the plans for Carnival 2013.
Additionally, building on the relationship forged with the Tempo network this year, the network will air the one-hour "Tempo Presents St. Maarten Carnival." This show will premiere on Tuesday September 4, at 7:00pm. In this initial two-week run, the show will air 25 times and will featured scenes
and interviews gathered during Carnival 2012.
The intention is to re-air this program and 2013 content a few weeks before Carnival 2013 as well. Approximately five Million viewers in over 28 countries worldwide, including the United States (NY, NJ, Conn. Pa), South America and parts of Europe will get to see St. Maarten’s Carnival in all its splendor.
The SCDF, since June, had already announced the dates for Carnival 2013 as part of its "Save the Dates" campaign. Carnival 2013 is scheduled to run from April 19 to May 3. The schedule is expected to feature local shows per usual, road events, about four international concerts and more.
"The SCDF has a vision for the future of St. Maarten’s Carnival and we look forward to continuing on the path of development through cooperation with our government, corporate partners and all Carnival lovers and supporters," Johnson said. "Not everything can happen overnight, but government showed its commitment to Carnival and the SCDF by increasing our marketing budget with which we were able to do much more, including securing a contract with Tempo. There is more on the horizon for the greatest Carnival in the North Eastern Caribbean," Johnson added.
Through additional marketing funds and its marketing plan, the SCDF recorded a year-over-year increase in attendance to all local shows in Carnival Village for Carnival 2012. The SCDF also cross-promoted wherever possible for the international concerts of Carnival 2012. The SCDF can be contacted by emailing sx*********@ho*****.com or calling 5220509, 5225133 or 5204788.