Eleuthera Junkanoo Festival (EJF) to return in 2024

Governor’s Harbour Cultural and Community Organization (GHCCO), beginning in January of 2017 during the Majority Rule holiday - which suffered the same fate of hiatus that all other festivals and homecomings on the island did during the course of the pandemic - did not make a comeback this year as anticipated by many. However, organizers said plans to build on the established success of previous festivals were well in play, and they anticipated a grand return in 2024.

endar in Eleuthera, with the island in 2019/2020 hosting four major parade events over the winter holiday season - beginning at Christmas with the traditional Ministry of Culture’s Senior Parade competition hosted in rotating township locations, followed by Boxing Day and New Year’s Day showcases in Harbour Island, then the EJF in Governor’s Harbour during Majority Rule Day in January, and wrapping up with Junior Junkanoo at the end of January or early February.

beneficiaries of the up tick in visitor bookings, expressed Mrs. George, saying, “We are charting a way forward for the parade returning, and from the touristic standpoint, every business in Central Eleuthera has capitalized on this market tremendously, by way of just this festival alone. People are booking their schedules around coming to the island in January.”

“Junkanoo is a dance to the music of life - a harmonious rhythm to the song of hearts. The fury of an animated flame - that ignites the entire being of all who hear. Which rouses the energy of those who partake - creating a synergy of ONENESS...” [Written by GHCCO]

The Eleuthera Junkanoo Festival (EJF) event, staged annually by the

Anishka George, with the GHCCO, explained that the key challenge to getting it off the ground again this January had been funding. The relatively new festival, had brought together junkanoo groups from all over Eleuthera, in a hugely successful parade event, with off shoot events that covered several days, as opposed to the traditional one-day parade competition.

The Eleuthera Junkanoo Festival tucked nicely in between what had been a growing junkanoo event cal-

By 2020, which was the EJF’s fourth annual event, the multiple day festival had grown to include, in addition to the main parade competition and large vendor area - a mixology competition, Showtime rushout, a band line up, junkanoo ‘jump in da line’, as well as bleachers, banding, drone and live coverage, and many more wellplanned aspects of the event.

It filled in a period of time in the winter holiday season calendar that had been a slow-down coming off of New Year’s day, and gave it new life, with flights, boats, airbnb’s, resorts, taxis, rentals and many others as

Governor’s Harbour, the home location of the EJF, has also proven to be a boon with participants, according to Ms. George, with a rack of advantageous attributes, including acoustics, venue arrangement, road spacing, parade logistics and more.

Key organizers, including Demetrius Johnson (lead), Anishka George (vice lead and public relations), and Don Demeritte (consultant - administration and costume creation), said that they are looking forward to partnering with companies, businesses, community members and other junkanoo leaders, with buy-in to the vision of even further elevating the junkanoo experience in Eleuthera.