The 34th annual Cayman Carnival Batabano culminated on Saturday May 6th, 2017 with Fresh Carnival taking home the coveted “Band Of The Year” title for the second year in a row.

Fresh Carnival’s 2017 theme was “Candy”, with sections titled Cotton Candy, Candy Apple, Runtz, and Laffy Taffy.

Fresh Carnival scored 262 points for the win, with Tribal Carnival coming in second place by only one point, with 261 points. Flow placed third with 251 points. Flow also won Spirit of Batabano.

The judges for the Batabano 2017 parade competition were: John Beckford, Marketing Director of Miami carnival; Yvette Harris, Public Relations for Miami Carnival; and Richard Bartholomew, renowneded designer of junior carnival costumes from Trinidad, who has designed Junior Batabano costumes for many years.

Batabano Chairperson Donna Myrie-Stephen said this year’s Batabano parade was very successful, with up to 2,000 masqueraders in 11 masquerade bands on the parade route, which started at the Seven Mile Public Beach and ended in George Town via West Bay Road.

“On behalf of the Batabano Committee we congratulate Fresh Carnival for winning the Band Of The Year title once again, and we also commend Tribal Carnival for making the competition particularly close this year,” she said. “All of the mas bands did a tremendous job this year and we thank them and their masqueraders, as well as the local businesses that stepped up and sponsored so many of the bands, for helping to make the 34th year of Cayman Carnival Batabano in the Cayman Islands a huge success.”

The Batabano parade was followed by a “Last Lap” fete on the waterfront as well as the Batabano Bazaar and Food Festival which had more than 25 stalls with various local businesses and organizations selling products and services, as well as food vendors serving up some of the island’s best Caymanian, Caribbean, and international cuisine.

For more information on Cayman Carnival Batabano visit their website www.caymancarnival.com