By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Tuesday 14th December 2021) — Chairperson of the St. Kitts-Nevis National Carnival Committee Shannon Hawley has indicated that the Bubble J’ouvert — slated for Monday 27th December 2021 — will be hosted as close to tradition as possible. Due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the required fully-vaccinated status of participants, the traditional street-style jamming activity will be held within an enclosed area — FLOW Grounds from 4am to 11am.
“Bubble J’ouvert … we’re trying to make it as traditional as possible so what we will do is we will have each band entering the venue one at a time on a tractor trailer; the traditional trailers that they would use, and they would actually circle the venue with individuals behind them similar to what you would see in a typical J’ouvert experience,” she said at a Sugar Mas press conference held on Monday 13th December 2021 at ZIZ TV studio.
Notably, members of the public have been criticizing the carnival committee’s arrangement for patrons to buy tickets to attend the Bubble J’ouvert, which is traditionally free. Hawley responded: “The traditional J’ouvert experience is one of dancing, and we’re going to have a very big venue. The venue is large enough with a very small live audience who are fully vaccinated so I don’t think the Carnival Committee’s intention is to stop anyone from dancing and having fun. I think it is end of year; we’ve made it thus far. We want everyone to be as safe as possible, at the same time we want everybody to enjoy themselves.”
Every individual entering Carnival events must be vaccinated. Bands must provide a list of their members and vaccination IDs, and if any member is not vaccinated, they must be replaced or the band does not perform. Participants are being asked to electronically upload their vaccination card rather than walking with the physical paper. Slated to perform at the Bubble J’ouvert are: Grand Masters Band, Small Axe Band, Kollison Band, DJ Tero, Sweet Sister Sensia, Hell Fire Sound, Ronnie Rascal, Upset Squad, JTS Entertainment, as well as the Power and Groovy Soca monarchs.