Goombay Festival is this Saturday
It's Goombay Festival time again. This Saturday, June 7, the 32nd Annual Goombay Festival is being held on Grand Avenue, from 37th Avenue (Douglas Road) to 32nd Avenue and it sometimes stretches up to Fuller Street. It starts at 11 am and runs until 8 pm.Come out and experience and celebrate Bahamian heritage including art, culture, music and food. If you haven't been, you're in for a treat. It's one big party.
The official parade starts at noon. Caribbean rhythms featuring Pirates of the Bahamas, stilt walkers, and the colorful costumed Junkanoo All Stars will take over the streets.
Highlights of the festival include: Special Caribbean Culinary demonstrations with organic foods, fresh fruits and vegetables by Chef Creole shot on location for a television airing on BET J.
For the first time ever, a Caribbean Arts Fair with Fine Art, Posters and Prints from emerging and master Artists from the Caribbean will be featured. All Tingz Caribbean Marketplace is bringing the best native hand crafted items, native books, calendars, Abaco ceramics, woodwork, spicy and exotic foods such as Jamaican Beef Patties, Fish Fry, Conch Fritters, Doubles, Empanadas, Conge, Sugar Cane, Coconut Water, and tropical refreshments by Don Q.
Heritage Tours, exotic flowers and plants, and tropical and native apparel will be available, and a Kulture Kidz Korner, featuring Junkanoo headdress and mask making, drumming workshops, steel pan demonstrations, Trickster Tales, games, prizes and more.
And there is a contest to see if they can break the record for the most people doing the "Electric Slide" at once. So put your dancing shoes on if you would like to be part of the record breakers!
posted by Tom Falco at 9:00 AM
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7 Comments:
As a real fan of Goombay, I, for one, am glad we are having it again this year (check it out at http://web.mac.com/msalup. On the other hand, having seen all the iterations, from having it closed off (like with the art festival) about 3 years ago, to not having it last year (or, if we had it, I never heard of it, so then it went sadly unannounced) I think that the "Arts Fair" with fine art, etc., does take away from the authenticity of the Goombay per se.
The Goombay is probably the most fun festival we have, a shame to see it being "civilized".
The last time I went to it, it was just a big hip-hop thing, with virtually no "heritage" visible.
Why does "heritage" have to mean static in time and old? Hip Hop is heritage, the same way that the music played by the Royal Bahamas Police Band is heritage.
I didn't focus on heritage at all, by the way, but on authenticity, which is a completey different ball of wax. Walking the Goombay you get a much more "real" feeling than in many other festivals which look contrived and/or artificial.
They did have Goombay last year but the booths were so few and far between it was not very exciting. This year is just goes from Douglas (37th Ave.) to McDonald (32nd Ave.).
Anybody know what time the Electric Slide contest is?
Remember the Art Stroll is Sat. night also 7-11 pm so Grove should be jumping.
her·it·age (her′ə tij)
noun
something handed down from one's ancestors or the past, as a characteristic, a culture, tradition, etc.
The Electric Slide is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Come out to break the Guiness record.
Haha! I'm trying to determine if the Electric Slide can be claimed as someone's heritage just yet.
It's my first time at the festival this year and I can't wait. I do hope to hear some 60s and 70s Caribbean rhythms with a dose of hip-hop and reggaeton, but I certainly hope the newer music doesn't dominate or drown out the older (as it did at the Calle Ocho thing).
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