Tourists Stumble on a Bit of Luck in The Bahamas at a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
Large groups of people stumbled on a bit of luck, this past weekend when they discovered the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation (MOTA) planned and hosted St. Patrick’s Day, Bahamian style, in Pompey Square.
Tourists and locals alike were welcomed with four-leaf clovers, green drinks, green decorations and the best of Bahamian entertainment. They were also treated to The Bahamas’ version of the Pied Piper with the Correctional Facilities Marching Band, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force Marching Band, the Royal Bahamas Police Force Marching Band, Aquinas College Marching Band, AND the Roots Junkanoo Group marching from Charlotte Street North, all the way to Pompey Square, drawing the crowd to the main event.
Pompey Square came to life with the sounds of the Lassie Doh Boys and persons danced and enjoyed the festivities around them.
Lisa Johnson, a resident of St. Louis, Missouri, said she enjoyed The Bahamas’ version of St. Patrick’s Day.
“I’m enjoying the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, I like the St. Patrick’s version here, the dancers, the music, and it’s great. We didn’t expect this, I like the girls dressed up too, they’re cute,” Johnson said.
Similarly, her friend Samantha Tsaqma from Washington DC said they stumbled upon it but it was a good time.
“So far, it’s good, I like it. The people are so good, they’re so welcoming, and it’s naturally nice. I think the celebration is awesome, we didn’t know that it was happening, so we were walking down the street, and then we saw it. It’s beautiful that you’re doing all of this,” Tsaqma said.
No one was left behind in this celebration as MOTA challenged the vendors to focus on St. Patrick’s Day with some of their products.
Colette Ferguson, the owner of Coco Reef Craft Store, took advantage of this and said the experience so far had been tremendous.
“It's been absolutely fabulous, the crowd has been good, the response from the tourists to try my product has been great and I like the ambiance. We should do this again. It's the same reaction from the tourists but I think they're more excited because it's an actual event and it's tangible for them so it's been great,” Ferguson said.
Charity Armbrister, Director of Events in MOTA, said the destination wanted to celebrate the death of St. Patrick with a twist of Bahamian culture and heritage.
“St. Patrick's Day is a religious and cultural celebration that takes place on March 17th around the world. It is the traditional date commemorating the death of St. Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland who ministered Christianity. Because it is a global celebration, and The Bahamas is a tourist destination, we thought it would be good to organize some activities for three days in celebration of St. Patrick's Day in Pompey Square. Over the 3-day period, visitors purchased authentically Bahamian products from the vendors who sell their goods every weekend in the Square. There was great visitor participation so next year we intend to make it an even greater event,” Armbrister said.