SINT MAARTEN (POND ISLAND) – Registration for Carnival 2022 opens on Tuesday June 1 and officially kicks off the preparation phase for St. Maarten’s largest, oldest, and longest annual event. The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) has been preparing for St. Maarten’s next fete since 2019, with 2020 and 2021 being postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. With vaccines now available and the world opening back up the foundation on Monday said it is getting ready to host what it suspects will be “an epic Carnival season like no other.”
The first part of the SCDF’s preparation phase is the registration period, typically held every year from June to November. This year, because the foundation already has many registrants in place, registration is open from June 1 until October 1, 2021. Registration takes place online only via the Carnival website www.sxm-carnival.com (website will go LIVE as of Tuesday).
The only aspect of Carnival for which registration will not be opened is booth registration. All booths for Carnival 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. Booth holders know that the next Carnival post-COVID will be epic, they are not going anywhere,” President of the SCDF Alston Lourens said.
Registration is open for every other aspect of Carnival including Season Passes, Calypso, Bands, Troupes, Road March and more. 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.
“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.
