Thursday, December 22, 2016

The Junkanoo Festival - another reason to fall in love with the Bahamas


The Junkanoo Festival is a hot spot event for Bahamians and tourists to engross themselves in the euphony and culture of the Bahama Islands. Apart from the Bahamian culture, this great event also highlights the display of exotic costumes and decorations that makes the carnival to stand out loud. Feathers are pertinent when it comes to celebrating a festival. These feathers are obtainable for event planning supplies at Schuman Feathers. You can get ostrich feathers wholesale and utilize them in many ways to adorn your carnival dress. Apart from the bulk ostrich feathers, you can also go for the nagorie goose feather collections in wholesale.

Why do we celebrate Junkanoo Festival?

Tracing its origin to the music, dance, and exhibition of West Africa, this festival is one of the oldest ongoing street festivals in the Caribbean, dating as far back as the 17th century. It’s simply celebrated to appreciate the cultural traditions of the Bahamians as well as life and freedom. The most popular theory for its celebration emerged from John Canoe (an African tribal chief) during the era of slavery. He demanded that his people (who were then slaves) be given the right to leave the plantations at Christmas and celebrate with others through music, dance, and costumes.

How do we celebrate Junkanoo Festival?

Presently, the Junkanoo festival parade has evolved from its simple origins of little shows to an elaborate funfair. Barricades and circular routes were introduced in the 1970's and bleachers in the 1980's alongside cash incentives. Over the years, the Junkanoo has grown into a major cultural festival in the Bahamas. The participants in this Bahamian festival come from all walks of life to witness the music, passion, and artistic flair of the Bahamians. They gather in groups, organized into categories based on their troupe size and judged on a given criteria with the three top categories being: best costume, best music, and best overall group presentation.

What is the duration and what are the events in Junkanoo Festival?

The Junkanoo festival is celebrated annually in the early hours of the morning across two parades down Bay Street in downtown Nassau. The first parade is on the 26th of December (Boxing Day) while the main event is on the first day of January (New Year’s Day). The Bahamas Junkanoo funfair is not an exclusive event: it comprises of a collection of celebrations, concerts, cultural shows and street parades.

Junkanoo and Costumes

When the festival initially started, the slaves were known to decorate themselves using scraps such as paper and feathers. These materials were sewn onto their clothes with the flour paste that's used to paint their faces. However, more elaborate costume designs have become a core part of the festival. You can always purchase your feathers based on your needs, but, it is not a bad idea to save on your celebration/party planning supplies.
Party supplies on wholesale rates can save you money, and the trusted wholesale feather suppliers like Schuman Feathers offer good discounts on these just before the commencement of the Junkanoo festival.

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