Today is the day of Junkanoo which is a Bahamian festival and parade. The traditional George Town Junkanoo is after Christmas but this is one where cruisers and locals get together to share the tradition. There is food and drink and then the parade. The costumes are elaborate. The local Junkanoo clubs share their costumes and instruments with cruisers who attend practices to learn the beats. The main instruments are whistle, Cow bells and drum. They also have some horns. The event raises money for local charities.
We had tickets and wanted to attend but it was really windy. Winds were in the 20’s gusting 30. In the morning, we had arranged to take a water taxi from Chat ‘N’ Chill but as it came time to leave, even launching the dinghy to take to Chat N Chill seemed crazy. We decided call the water taxi and ask if Elvis could pick us up at our boat. He agreed to pick us up if we were ready right away. He skillfully pulled up within inches of our boat and we hopped aboard.
The event was scheduled for 2 pm but things were not really up and running in typical island fashion so we walked around town and had some delicious chicken wings at Sharies. The winds were gusting over 30 while we were there. A catamaran had a little trouble in the harbor and lost a large floating raft. Three young boys set out on the dinghy to rescue it in the high winds. They were successful.
We walked back over to the festival area where things still had not started but people in costumes were arriving. The costumes were quite colorful and elaborate and many had appendages on springs that swung nicely with movement. After a while, some drummers started to drum and soon the parade was lined up. Three little girls led the parade.
The parade started with dancers and then people on cowbells, whistles, horns and drums. There were two different drum beats with the small drums first, then large drums. The drums were made of large barrels.
The parade marched down the street, then turned around and marched back. It was great to see them twice.
Elvis returned us safely to our boat. It was still rough and a wet taxi ride but we made it. We were very glad to experience the Junkanoo. We would love to see a large one.