~Goes on sale from Saturday ~
The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF), for the first time ever, is offering season passes for Carnival. Launched on Monday, the passes will allow entrance to every show in Carnival Village, local as well as international, for one flat, discounted price of US $105.
The introduction of season passes for Carnival 2011 also comes with its own slogan: "Jump ‘n Jive, It’s Only 105", a brand that will be used to drive the awareness of the availability of the passes in the weeks leading up to the official opening of Carnival on Monday, April 25.
The SCDF will open the registration and sale of the passes this Saturday, February 26. The sale of the passes will cease on April 16. Interested persons can visit the SCDF office at the St. Maarten Festival Village to register and make payment for their season pass between 10:00am and 2:00pm as of Saturday. Persons are asked to bring along identification and two passport sized pictures when registering. The pictured pass will be made and presented to the purchaser soon thereafter.
President of the SCDF Stuart Johnson explained that the benefits of season passes are not only financial for the purchaser but for convenience as well. "Purchasing a Carnival season pass will save you about US $40 per individual. It will also spare you having to stand in line to purchase a ticket at the Village or having to seek out ticket outlets to purchase your ticket for any show," he said.
"Once you purchase that pass from early, you save and you will have more finances available when Carnival rolls around to support the booth holders and other activities. So there are lots of benefits to purchasing a season pass," he added. Johnson said the board of the SCDF decided to introduce season passes after "Carnival lovers have been urging us for years to introduce the pass." He said negotiations with the international concert promoters went well and is very pleased that they have decided to work with the SCDF in offering the passes.
There are three local shows and three international shows in Carnival Village this year. The Miss St. Maarten Senior Carnival Queen Pageant, Youth Extravaganza and Senior Calypso Finals are the local shows. The international concert line-up consists of a Reggae/R&B concert, a Latin/Zouk concert and the One Love Soca Xplosion concert. The SCDF will be hosting a press conference on Thursday, February 24, with the promoters of these concerts to announce who the featured international artists will be.