BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WITH the Grand Parade for the 2024/2025 National Carnival set for tomorrow (Jan. 1), the National Carnival Committee (NCC) is making efforts to ensure a smooth-flowing event.
In previous years, the parade has faced issues such as late starts, disjointed movements, and congestion. This year, the committee is committed to preventing those issues from recurring.
Clement ‘Monarch’ O’Garro, Director of Carnival, confirmed that the Grand Parade will begin at 11:00 a.m., with five registered troupes taking to the streets.
The parade route will remain unchanged, starting at the Dr. William Conner School, proceeding down Paul Southwell Drive, where revelers will perform on a stage, and then continue along the Bay Road to Fort Street. The parade will then loop around West Independence Square.
To ensure the parade’s success, the troupes must return to Central Basseterre. O’Garro emphasized that while previous issues stemmed not from the start time, but from the disjointed pace of the troupes, plans are in place to prevent such problems this year.
“As you know, last year we had quite a few wide gaps, but we have a command centre. Drone intensified, making sure that's going to ensure that our parade keeps up and that we get back into town at a decent hour,” O’Garro said.
He also noted that some revelers had not respected carnival marshals last year, ignoring requests to keep the troupes moving and lingering at certain locations. “They just ignore them when they asked them to move on, so we have a stronger presence this year,” he added.
To improve coordination, the NCC has bolstered security and introduced overhead monitoring to track the parade’s progress.
With all troupes and bands agreeing to the long parade route, the NCC is optimistic about minimizing the disruptions and gaps seen in past years.
