Guest Blogger

New Years Eve is a big party across the globe, but in the Bahamas they kick things into high gear with Junkanoo. Junkanoo is an all-night party, Bahamian style that starts at two in the morning and doesn’t stop until noon. It has to rank up there with Mardi-Gras and Carnaval as one of the biggest parties of the year.

One thing I learned quickly about the Bahamians after a few days at the Atlantis is that they are a laid back people who love to laugh and will break out into song and dance whenever the mood strikes them. Junkanoo is there largest holiday and happens two times a year on Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year’s Day. I was lucky enough to arrive in the middle of this very festive atmosphere and it has been a great time.

On New Year’s Eve my family and I attended an excellent buffet where I inhaled as many lobster tails as I could get my hands on. At midnight, we watched fireworks shoot into the night sky from the Marina at midnight amid multi-million dollar yachts that lined the docks. My brother, Megan and I then wandered into the Studio 54 party that was taking place in the ballroom and danced under the largest collection of disco balls I had ever seen in one place. It was then about 1:30am and time to head downtown for Junkanoo.

The main event at Junkanoo is the parade that winds its way through downtown Nassau. It features floats and groups ranging from a dozen to over a hundred dancers, band members and revelers wearing costumes that weigh upwards of 50 pounds. The parade route is lined with the majority of New Providence’s 200,000 inhabitants, young and old who dance to the Junkanoo music. The bands feature a collection of horns, drums, whistles and the most cowbells I have ever seen. The Bahamians actually named their domestic beer Kalik in homage to the distinct sound the cowbells produce in the parade. The bands were easily my favorite part of the event. The energy these people put into their performance was not only amazing but contagious as well, and I found myself dancing along from the sidewalks.

My family headed back to the Atlantis around 6am and I was a little disappointed by how early we turned in, but my younger sister is only 11 so I could understand. I then threw on my swimsuit and watched the sunrise over the ocean from the beach to start the day and the year off right.

Happy New Year to you all!

Ryan “Force” Lucchesi
force@wisehandpoker.com