~ Urges business to support registrants ~
The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) on Wednesday said it was "ecstatic" with the amount of registrants for Carnival 2011, lauding the fact that an increase has been recorded and the Senior Carnival Queen Pageant is back "in full force".
With over 70 registrants combined for its local shows and parades, the foundation said it was thankful to these Carnival lovers for registering and "coming on board with us as we continue to develop St. Maarten’s Carnival."
The foundation in particularly pleased with the nine young women who registered to compete in the Miss St. Maarten Senior Carnival Queen Pageant. "From the outset we committed to this show and hosting it once again in Carnival Village. We embarked on a specific promotional campaign for the show and are very happy to see those efforts result in such high registration," President of the SCDF Stuart Johnson said.
The Carnival foundation also has 22 Senior Calypsonians registered, 13 Senior Roadmarch competitors, 4 Junior Carnival Queen Contestants, 8 Junior Carnival Calypso & Roadmarch singers, 12 Junior and Senior Carnival troupes (not including troupes from abroad) and 4 bands to compete in the Band-O-Rama. The SCDF also announced that all booths in Carnival Village have been spoken for.
"As soon as this new board started its tenure in September 2010, we immediately went to work on meeting stakeholders about all things Carnival. We informed the public every step of the way and we assured that every effort will be made to stage quality local events," Johnson said.
"Now however, all of the registrants need the support of the local business community and population. From the businesses they need your financial assistance and from the public they need you to come out in great numbers to support them. If attendance at local shows continues to be poor and if businesses don’t step up, it discourages others from participating in future events. We are looking forward to that support especially on the day of the respective events," Johnson added.
The foundation will now move to the next planned phase of its preparation which includes rehearsals for all events and public dissemination of specific information regarding those events. More information regarding the foundation’s season passes is also forthcoming in the next few days.