Posted by: Editor on Sep 25, 2006 – 12:07 PM
newsandinfo For many people, October marks the beginning of the fall season, but for the folks in McLean’s Town, it signifies the approach of another exciting Conch Cracking Festival.
Celebrated during the Columbus Day weekend, the 34th Annual Conch Cracking Festival will kick-off a full day of electrifying activities with live Bahamian entertainment beginning at 10:00 a.m. in East End on October 13.
Activities for the cultural event were announced yesterday at a press conference at the Tourism Office by Conch Cracking Com-mittee member Renamae Symonette, who is also manager of heritage tourism in Grand Bahama.
“We are once again putting a lot of planning into this event and want to ensure you that it will keep getting better and better,” Symonette said. “We will have a lot of native stuff like crack conch, conch fritters, grill conch and many more delicious conch dishes. This year we are adding two special features involving the island’s youth, the first being a high school conch debate.”
She revealed that officials from the Ministry of Education and the Toastmasters Club are assisting in preparations for the debate competition.
“We have asked each senior high school on the island to select one student to participate in that debate,” Symonette said.
Participating schools include Eight Mile Rock High, St. Paul’s Methodist, Tabernacle Baptist, Alpha and Omega and Jack Hayward High will make up the proposition and Bishop Michael Eldon High, Sunland Baptist Academy, Grand Bahama Catholic High and Lucayan International will make up the opposition.
Symonette explained that a pre-debate will be held to determine who competes in East End. She said that at the conclusion of the debate the six competitors with the highest scores will be selected to form two debating teams to participate in the McLean’s Town Conch Cracking Festival ‘Conch Debate.’
Noting that topics for the debate have not yet been selected, Symonette said that teachers have been sending in suggestions to the Ministry of Education.
The competition will be held at the festival site in McLean’s Town on October 13, 2006. The second event will be the first-ever High School Culinary Classic, where conch will be the main feature.
Symonette said the objectives of competitions are to increase knowledge about the conch and to expose hotel guests and the public to new ideas and techniques used in preparation of Bahamian cuisine.
One of its main purposes is to also create a bridge between the agriculture and tourism industries.
The tourism official added that the community of McLean’s Town will benefit from the event by inviting The Bahamas and the world to their community, and placing their talent, individual culture and team spirit on stage, while at the same time receiving much needed economic income for themselves and their community.
Other activities include conch-cracking demonstrations, primary school conch debate, Rake n’ Scrape by Offie and the Boys, Quadrille dancing by the Back Yard Dancers, a Junkanoo rush-out, performances by the Royal Bahamas Police Force Marching and Pop Band and the annual conch-cracking contest.
Symonette promised special appearances by the always exciting K.B and the ever entertaining Dynamite Daisy.
Source: Angelo Armbrister, The Freeport News,