SCDF’s board. Front row, from left: vice-president Paula Gordon, board member Angela Colli, secretary Franciane Peterson, assistant treasurer Marie Gittens, and assistant secretary Vida Boyrard. Back row, from left: president Alston Lourens, board member Roland Rommy, treasurer Mike Granger, and board member Edwardo Radjouki.
~ Booths already allotted ~
PHILIPSBURG--Registration for Carnival 2022 opened today, Tuesday, marking the beginning of the preparation phase for St. Maarten’s largest annual event.
St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) has been preparing for St. Maarten’s next Carnival since 2019, with the festivals in 2020 and 2021 not going ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the foundation is optimistic about the future, with mass vaccination programmes underway across the world and travel restrictions gradually easing up. SCDF said on Monday that it is getting ready to host what it suspects will be “an epic Carnival season like no other.”
Registration usually runs from June to November. But this year the foundation has pushed up the deadline to October 1 because many persons and companies had already registered in the previous two years.
Interested parties can register via SCDF’s website
www.sxm-carnival.com, which went live today. Registration is only possible online.
Operating a booth is the only part of Carnival that persons cannot register for, as all Carnival booths have been allotted and paid for since early 2020.
“We had a handful that became available after that, but they were quickly filled from our waiting list,” said SCDF president Alston Lourens.
All other aspects of Carnival are open for registration, including season passes, calypso, road march, bands, and troupes.
“Persons who had already registered and paid for their season passes prior to Carnival 2020 do not have to register for the pass again and are urged to safeguard their receipt as proof of payment,” said SCDF on Monday.
“We want to urge all interested parties to register on time. You have four months to visit the website and fill in your details. There will be no extension of registration deadlines, as there is a lot of work to be done in preparation for Carnival and we must stay disciplined to be prepared in time,” Lourens said.
