St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) schedule of events for Carnival 2024.
PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) has unveiled the highly anticipated schedule of events for Carnival 2024. This year’s celebration, including pre-Carnival events, will span an impressive 28 days of “fettin”.
From the grand opening of Carnival Village on April 18 to the symbolic burning of King Momo on May 5, the official part of the schedule promises an unforgettable experience for bacchanalists from around the world. “We are sending an invitation to bacchanalists around the world to ‘Come, Celebrate Life’ with bacchanalists on The Friendly Island,” SCDF said in a press release on Sunday.
SCDF President Edwardo Radjouki expressed his excitement about the line-up of events, which includes a mix of new shows that are sure to captivate Carnival lovers. Radjouki emphasised the importance of featuring more local shows on the schedule, as he believes that Carnival should always start and end with celebrating and exporting their own culture.
“It starts and ends with our own. We have to celebrate and export our culture first. Everything else is just complementary,” Radjouki stated. He also highlighted the injection of new shows built on fresh ideas that contribute to the continuous growth of Carnival. This year, several individuals have taken on the challenge of organising shows, and Radjouki eagerly anticipates their offerings to the public.
The schedule boasts five jump-ups, including the return of the “Fete to Fitness” around town jump-up, four Road to Carnival events, 11 local events, five international concerts, three queen pageants (including the first-ever St. Maarten Carnival Caribbean Queen Pageant), and three parades.
Notably, Soca Rumble, a popular event showcasing local soca music in the groovy and power genres, will be making a much-awaited return. “The return of Soca Rumble has all musical artistes buzzing. The show has done a lot over the years for the growth and sustainability for local soca music and artistes. It is great to see it back on the schedule,” Radjouki said.
He explained that each event will be marketed and rolled out from now until Carnival 2024. He also revealed that four new international shows will be added to the line-up, including Jouvert Jump-Off, Afro Riddimz International Concert, UV Neon Glow Fete and Bacchanal Flag Fete International Mash-Up.
While some well-known events like Night of the Hit Makers, Caribbean Flag Fest and Bacchanal Sunday are absent from this year's schedule, Radjouki explained that it was due to promoters either indicating their decision not to host a show this year or missing the deadline to express interest.
Following the release of the Carnival 2024 schedule, SCDF will continue to finalise discussions with corporate sponsors who make the event possible. Several meetings will also be held with emergency services and other stakeholders to ensure a smooth and safe celebration. The organisation of various shows will commence and season-pass sales will open in December. Radjouki emphasised that this is the time when the real work takes place, leading up to the highly anticipated event in April.
General registration for various aspects of Carnival is still open, except for international shows which closed on July 1. Individuals interested in participating in booths, pageants, parades, calypso shows, bands, and the Road March competition can still register through the link
“Carnival 2024 will feature some changes, which is good for the festival every few years. We will share much more information about all of the events as the weeks and months go by. As usual, the public can expect the SCDF to do its utmost and go overboard to present an unforgettable Carnival season,” Radjouki concluded.
