Junkanoo

Each of the outlying Family Islands also had floats



You can tell there is still a huge influence of the British.
 Many of the floats had royal or Anglican themes.  Keep in mind that all of these
 floats are non-motorized.  They are either individuals inside all this cardboard and
crepe paper of a few  people pushing/pulling.  Truly amazing level of creativity and effort.



All sides were decoarted, even the backs.



Just one of the many, many marching bands.



Some very fancy dancers



After 7 hours our eyes were bedazzled by all the spectacal and colors!



One of the very cute little kids included in the marching festivities.
  He was saluting the crowds but everyone in front of me was
 snapping his picture so all of mine were of their backs.



These kids did a very elaborate dance move.  The groups stop about every 10 feet to
repeat their performance so everyone could see them.  We left after only 7 hours but
the parade went on for another 4 or 5 hours more.

Lots and lots of drum troops.  No marching band can compare!



Amazing detail.  There were 2 sets of feet inside this one.



Look at athe details of their costumes.



Kalik is a locally made beer and very popular.



One guy one big costume.



An amazing amount of feathers went into this parade.



I was fascinated by the detail.  One person carrying all that stuff-they must have
 a great work out routine all year.



I love the colors.




More royalty.



One person in this one



They sure know how to do it up big.

 

Junkanoo is impossible to describe for this mere mortal.  The sounds, the energy the extrodinarily joyous mood of the entire crowd, the constant motion of the marchers and performers.  We were close to the start of the parade and it was almost on time with a start of midnight.  By 7 am our brains and bodies were close to shut-down so we tried to make our way back to the marina.  We madea  few false starts and found the parade was stretching around for miles on the street paralleling the one we were on going the opposite direction.  We heard them still partying at 11 am after a short nap.  These foks know how to party!  It was a tremendous experience and I'm glad we didn't miss it.  The really amazing thing is they stage it again on New Year's Eve.  I cannot conceive of the amount of effort and resources required.  Each and every costume was a vibrant work of art.  We learned that they don't reuse anything.  Each year the groups start from scratch on January 2..  For only $15 we had wonderful seats and it was so worth it.  I can see why it is such a tourist attraction.