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Carnival Dates Announced
On Tuesday 23rd July, 2019 written communication addressing the proposal of Cayman Carnival dates was sent to a stakeholder for review. After this communication was distributed amongst the wider spectrum of the stakeholder’s membership, the response received was not in favour of hosting the Grand Cayman and the Cayman Brac road parades on the same weekend; one being held on the public holiday and one on the Saturday of that long weekend.
The purpose of the discussions which have been ongoing for some time, was to make better decisions about how Cayman Carnival could best model from the successes of regional partners in hosting a unified carnival and creating an outstanding experience.
Through many helpful submissions, the Ministry of Culture has taken into consideration the following regarding the disseminated proposed dates: the first weekend in May fell in line with the Bahamas Carnival and would leave Cayman Carnival competing for the same international tourism dollar; the second weekend in May fell on Mother’s day and it was thought would generally not support travel and the third weekend conflicted with the Bracchanal Carnival, and did not facilitate residents and tourists being able to participate in both events.
During the discussions the long weekend in June was also explored however, this was met with concerns as this is when the Queen’s birthday weekend is to be observed and George Town would be closed down for the annual parade.
“This was not an easy task and required many proposals and counter-proposals with stakeholders and vested parties. At this time we believe we have gained the majority buy-in and have made final decisions to accommodate the start of 2020 bookings,” says Honourable Dwayne Seymour, JP – Minister of Health, Environment, Culture and Housing.
The dates will be as originally announced: 1st weekend of May Junior Carnival, 2nd weekend of May Cayman Carnival and 3rd weekend (Discovery Day) Bracchanal.
“The Ministry will continue to listen to our stakeholders on an annual basis and make adjustments as necessary. We would like to thank all parties for their submissions, communications and the healthy discussions that have led to this decision. We encourage all to try to make these dates work and a look forward to continued Carnival success for the Cayman Islands,” concluded Minister Seymour.
