The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) released its schedule for St.Maarten Carnival 2013 over the weekend, a schedule that features 22 days of Carnival activities. There will be 17 days of “fettin” from the official opening of Carnival Village on Thursday, April 18 until the close on Friday May 3, 2013. Prior to that however, there will also be five Carnival events held at locations outside of Carnival Village.

The schedule is the longest it has been in a few years and features seven locally themed nights, six international nights and eight road events (jump-ups and parades). The international nights will cover almost every music genre, Soca, Reagge, Zouk/Compas, Latin, Antillean and R&B.

The 2013 schedule also features a US $2 Family Fun & Culture Night. “With this night we wanted to let families come out to Carnival Village to simply enjoy the ambiance and for the kids to have some fun. There will be bouncers on village grounds, cultural entertainment on stage, it will be a fun, inexpensive night,” President of the SCDF Mike Granger said.

He continued: “We think Carnival lovers, supporters, or corporate sponsors, will be very happy with this schedule. We’ve scheduled a little something for everyone, the best that Carnival has to offer. From our Calypso shows to our pageants and highlighted by our parades, St.Maarten Carnival 2013 will be spectacle that nobody, at home or abroad, will want to miss.”

As for which artists will be featured on the international nights, Granger said as soon as the respective promoters conclude their negotiations and inform SCDF definitively who the artists are, the public will be informed accordingly. “There will be so much more announcements coming for Carnival 2013 about the various initiatives that will be put in place. Stay tuned for those,” Granger said.

The 2013 Carnival schedule (Event Page Link):

Saturday, January 26            Unity Jump Up

Saturday, April 6                   Senior Calypso Eliminations

Sunday, April 7                      Jr. Queen Show & Jr. Road March & Calypso

Friday, April 12                      Fete to Fitness Jump Up

Saturday, April 13                  Teen & Senior Queen Cultural & Speech Competition

Thursday, April 18                 Opening Carnival Village

Friday, April 19                      International Night – Antillean

Saturday, April 20                 International Night – Zouk

Sunday, April 21                    Junior Carnival Parade

Monday, April 22                   Miss Mature Pageant

Tuesday, April 23                  $2 Family Fun & Cultural Night

Wednesday, April 24             Teen & Senior Pageant

Thursday, April 25                 Youth Extravaganza

Friday, April 26                      International Night – Soca/Dancehall Blend

Saturday, April 27                 International Night –  Soca

Sunday, April 28                    Senior Calypso Finals & Carnival Honors

Monday, April 29 (4am)        Jouvert Morning Jump-Up

Monday, April 29 (8pm)        International Night – Reggae

Tuesday, April 30                  Grand Carnival Parade

Wednesday, May 1               Second Day Parade

Thursday, May 2                   International Night – Latin

Friday, May 3                        Closing Jump Up/ Burning King Momo