Junkanoo Festival

Hows everyone doing? Hopefully the answer was great! I mean come on it’s a brand new year. That means new goals, new explorations and new opportunities to be seized. I get a feeling this is going to be the best year. Better yet, I KNOW this is going to be the best year. How do I know this? Well its simple, because I am going to make it the best year yet! And to make sure this prediction comes true, I have some great content lined up for you guys so make sure you stay tuned.

Also, If you enjoy the images and content on this site feel free to check out my exclusive library which holds a few tips and secrets as how to how you can also share some of your thoughts, images and ideas with the world. Now that I got a bit of my rambling out the way, lets get to the good stuff, the entire reason you came here, THAT’S RIGHT THE JUNKANOO FESTIVAL.

Back-story!

Before I can describe exactly what the Junkanoo festival is, I need to fill in a few details of how I even stumbled across this awesome event. Well, it all begins with a family cruise. Our family decided to go on a remembrance cruise, the same way we did when we were children. Upon boarding the enormous Majesty of the Sea, memories of childhood instantly returned. The most prominent memory being the all you can eat buffets offered for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

That’s right, all the bacon, eggs, waffles, stir-fry, tofu, fruit desserts and nearly any other dish you can think of were completely unlimited. This was definitely the second most spectacular event of the entire cruise. Because lets face it, FOOD IS LIFE. Now that we have boarded the majestic ship, you may be wondering where we are headed? Answer, the Bahamas. Upon arriving we walked around and noticed all of the tourist traps while dodging the seemingly pricey excursions.

We walked the beach and took several pics as you can see but as we walked we began to notice a large amount of people and music originating from the end of the beach. Naturally our curiosity fueled our legs and we gravitated towards the area. Upon arriving we were completely surprised to see tons of people in costume preparing for some type of parade. We asked a few locals what the parade was for and they answered THE JUNKANOO FESTIVAL.

Now that I have given you a bit of bask story, its time to answer our previous question, WHAT IS THE JUNKANOO FESTIVAL. Well to answer it in layman’s terms, it is a large festival celebrating independence. But to be a bit more specific, it is believed that the Junkanoo Festival originiated from the three days off slaves were given at Christmas. They celebrated these 3 days with masks, costumes, singing and dancing.

Other speculations regarding the history of the Junkanoo festival state there was a West African prince by the name of John Canoe that outwitted the English becoming a hero.

Regardless of your beliefs about the history of this amazing festival, we can all agree that it is extremely fun and attracts viewers from all over the world. We had never planned to observe this festival and were thrilled to find out we just so happened to be on the island the day of the event.

Junkanoo Performance

The performer’s musicians and dancers were all extremely skilled; They marched, danced and played completely in rhythm. The numerous costumes and routines were hypnotizing. Popular movies such as Toy story and Pocahontas were all represented at this festival. Interestingly enough, all of these costumes were created by hand! The students created their unique costumes from various materials and put a large amount of details into them. I can only imagine how many hours this took but they certainly whore them with pride.

I hope you enjoyed my quick explanation and exploration of the Junkanoo festival. More images from the festival can be found BELOW, definitely check them out to see some of these amazing performers in action. If you have been to this festival or enjoyed this post feel free to drop a comment below. Finally If you have the time and even if you do not, definitely look into this festival, you will not be disappointed. Well that is it for this time, until next time STAY BOUNDLESS!!!