The 5th annual Boardwalk Mas is set to take place here on May 16, 2009, said Regina Labega, head of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau (STB).
The Boardwalk masquerade, or "mas," celebrates the island’s traditional festive culture with marching bands, masqueraders, Carnival royals, martial arts, moko jumbies, and dance-theater along the Great Bay Beach promenade, said Labega.
As in previous years, the late afternoon parade will conclude with an evening concert at the Wathey Square on Frontstreet. The Boardwalk Mas is an annual heritage program of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, a department of the St. Maarten government.The STB has again called in the OES team from House of Nehesi Publishers to coordinate the Boardwalk Mas.
"For 2009, music, comedy, dance, song and theater will be featured on the concert stage," said Labega.Some 35 groups and individuals have already made contact about participating in the 2009 Boardwalk Mas, said parade manager Youmay Dormoy over the weekend. Dormoy has been with the OES team since the first Boardwalk Mas in 2005. The "mas" is an outgrowth of the Tourism Master Plan (TourMap) of 2005.
TourMap surveys and public meetings saw repeated calls by individuals and community organizations to see more public exhibitions of the island’s traditional culture for the enjoyment of both the island’s people and tourists.
"It is encouraging to see the growing number of our island’s people participating in the Boardwalk Mas as masqueraders, artists, folklorists, schools, young people, and especially as families," said Labega. According to the Tourist Bureau head, "for the last two years we have also noticed so many more visitors coming from the hotels and enjoying the Boardwalk Mas, which exhibits our multifaceted heritage and cultural connections—not in a caricature way but with pride and style," said Labega.