Summer carnival season returns to the Caribbean after 2-year pandemic pause

With COVID-19 restrictions largely lifted throughout the Caribbean, the summer season Carnival season — with all of its costumes, music and dancing — has returned.

Hopes are excessive throughout the area for what is usually the most important money-making occasion of the yr, after many nations have seen declines in tourism as a result of ongoing pandemic.

Amongst these internet hosting carnival festivities this summer season — with occasions scattered from June by way of August — are Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados.

A celebration of Caribbean tradition, festival-goers can anticipate massive avenue parades and events, with electrifying music, vibrant costumes and dancing, and occasions centred round native food and drinks.

Whereas Carnival in Jamaica is usually held within the spring, it was staged later this yr as a result of pandemic and simply wrapped on Saturday.

Carnival is being held a bit later this yr in lots of nations. Historically, they have been held within the days earlier than Lent on the Christian calendar, however now many have moved them to the summer season. This yr, Trinidad, thought of by many to be the birthplace of Carnival, went forward with holding festivities on the finish of February, earlier than the beginning of Lent. 

Festivals increase native economies

Carnival, and the tourism it brings, is important to the native financial system in Jamaica, with an estimated financial affect of $4.6 billion annually. 

“Carnival in Jamaica … is the biggest financial affect occasion in Jamaica. So it is No. 1 when it comes to what we now have for the financial system,” mentioned Kamal Bankay, the co-chair of the Carnival in Jamaica Nationwide Stakeholders Committee.

Jamaica reported greater than 1.5 million guests in 2021 — a quantity that’s anticipated to be larger this yr, with the return of Carnival.

“Flights, motels, floor transportation, meals and beverage, occasions — and while you sound all of them up and what individuals are spending in Jamaica in the course of the Carnival season, it is No. 1. Greater than the rest,” Bankay mentioned.

In the meantime, in Barbados, the summer season competition referred to as Crop Over — a celebration of harvest and emancipation held in late July and early August — attracts 1000’s of holiday makers to the small island, with the ultimate occasion, Grand Kadooment, attracting roughly 15,000 revellers alone.

Carnival brings in an estimated $150 million to that nation annually, based on Anthony Layne, president of the Barbados Affiliation of Masqueraders.

“That is the one sector that pulls in that cash in such a brief house of time,” he mentioned. 

Pandemic gave time to re-evaluate

And in Grenada, preparations are effectively underway for Spicemas 2022, held from Aug. 3-10. Referred to as the Isle of Spice, Grenada’s carnival can be a celebration of emancipation and the annual competition brings collectively costume design, meals, rum and pageantry.

The go-ahead by the federal government to carry the occasion this yr marks a brand new daybreak, based on Kelvin Jacob, CEO of Grenada’s Spicemas Company.

“The previous two years have been our downtime, and we used that point to re-evaluate our product,” Jacob defined. 

“Carnival is essential to our tourism. It is one among our greatest sellers and brings the biggest set of individuals into the island.”

Jacob, who has labored in carnival planning for greater than 32 years, says that quite a lot of guests to the island solely go to Grenada due to Spicemas.

Additionally wanting ahead to a powerful rebound in Carnival tourism this yr is Ricardo Adams, chair of the Carnival Growth Company for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. 

Nevertheless, he mentioned he wished organizers knew the competition — referred to as Vincy Mas — was occurring sooner.

“We solely knew we have been having a full Vincy Mas round March of this yr. And so when it comes to the time allowed for us to arrange, it posed a little bit of a problem,” mentioned Adams.

‘COVID-19 hasn’t gone wherever’

Regardless of the hype surrounding Caribbean carnivals, COVID-19 remains to be spreading on the islands.

And in most Caribbean territories, there was low vaccine uptake, with Jamaica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines having lower than half of their populations totally vaccinated.

“There’s a common concern about spikes in numbers, as a result of leisure occasions and carnivals are not any totally different,” mentioned Bankay, of Jamaica. “[But] all the massive occasions which can be occurring now are even greater than Carnival occasions.”

“We live in a COVID-19 setting and life should go on,” mentioned Layne, from Barbados. 

“You continue to should watch out and you’ll nonetheless be involved. We might nonetheless need all individuals to take the mandatory precautions and to do what is critical to maintain themselves protected.”

In line with the Pan American Well being Group (PAHO), which oversees the Caribbean, COVID-19 instances within the area decreased by 5.2 per cent within the first week of July. However PAHO additionally cautioned that the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 have been “driving new infections throughout the Americas.”

Lynda Williams, president of the Barbados Affiliation of Medical Practitioners, says specific warning have to be taken with mass partying.

“COVID-19 hasn’t gone wherever. And though we expect after we see numbers fall that the pandemic is over, that’s not the case … There are some new variants in BA.4 and BA.5 which can be inflicting numbers to rise,” she mentioned.

“We simply should be very, very cautious.”