BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – EFFORTS are underway to ensure that the activities for Sugarmas 53 go off without a hitch, as plans are well into the advanced stages.
This was confirmed by the Chairperson of the National Carnival Committee (NCC), Shannon Hawley, who announced that the Committee is currently meeting with stakeholders and coordinating behind the scenes to ensure the success of this year’s national Carnival.
As part of its planning, the NCC launched the Carnival calendar in June, a critical step to ensure that everyone—both local and overseas participants—can properly prepare for Sugarmas 53.
“Because we can assure you, Sugarmas has always been the largest national Carnival event, but we can assure you that this year will be the biggest Sugarmas in the history of St. Kitts and Nevis,” Hawley stated during a press engagement.
The committee has revamped its calendar, introducing a separate swimsuit showcase within the St. Kitts and Nevis National Carnival Queen Pageant. This new addition means that the swimsuit segment will be held as a separate show from the main pageant night.
“So this year we have introduced on the 8th of December, Sunday the 8th of December, a swimsuit showcase featuring the national Carnival Queen contestants or ambassadors. It will be judged, it will feature two segments, and the contestants will be able to rock two swimsuits in that appearance,” Hawley revealed.
She continued: “Now we've decided to do that to garner additional excitement for the show. As well as to ensure that on the night of the 19th of December, when is the main event, the show's time frame is reduced significantly. We don't want individuals to be up in one o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning.”
With the introduction of the new event, the NCC has scheduled the Junior Calypso Competition for December 15th and moved Midnight Escape to the opening of Carnival on December 13th.
Panorama, which is described as the signature event, has been rescheduled for December 29th, and will see an increase in prize money. According to Hawley, the prize has been raised to $30,000, marking the third consecutive increase in as many years.
The Chair also announced the registration deadlines for songs and Jouvert, while noting that regional and international influencers will once again be on the island to promote the Festival
