As
a non-profit organization run by a team of dedicated volunteers on
Grand Cayman, corporate sponsorship is crucial for keeping the
37-year Batabano tradition alive and thriving, and organisers say
there has never been a better time than now for businesses to support
this growing national event.

“Batabano
is so much more than just a road parade for masqueraders because it
truly unites all demographics of people living in our community while
offering a tremendous economic boost for a wide cross section of
local entrepreneurs, including local artisans, cooks, restaurants,
bars, retail stores, taxis, hotels, condos, DJ’s, singers, dancers,
event rentals, security officers, cleaners, you name it,” said
Batabano Chairperson Donna Myrie-Stephen. “It is certainly a
thriving tourism product yes, but Batabano, with its unique
connection to turtle nesting season in our islands, really touches
the hearts and spirits of our local people like no other event in
Cayman does, and that alone makes it so special.”

Mrs.
Myrie-Stephen said that now more than ever, people are truly
realizing just how much Batabano has always united Caymanians as one,
along with people from all cultures and backgrounds who call Cayman
home. “When a national event has been uniting people to celebrate
together for almost four decades, for generations, it becomes part of
your culture, part of your history. Our people say ‘Batabano’
with pride, knowing that it is so unique to our islands. You have
real bragging rights when you’re part of Batabano!”

With
just 12 weeks to Batabano on the weekend of May 7th
to 10th,
Batabano organisers say corporate sponsors are urgently needed at all
levels to support the growing carnival.

“Our
sponsorship drive began from last year with hundreds of local
businesses being contacted, so we’re appealing to them all again to
come and be part of Batabano,” she said, noting that sponsorship is
critical in order to put on the type of high end concerts and events
that Cayman residents and visitors have come to expect, which are
easily upwards of CI$75K – CI$100K per event to be done right and
to attract top entertainers, in addition to the street parade. “Let
there be no doubt – Cayman Carnival Batabano is here to stay as it
continues to be a unifying economic driver for our islands and for
our people, so it remains one of the top events for sponsors to be
part of and to support in the Cayman Islands.”

The
overall (adult) Batabano sponsorship levels vary in order to suit any
company’s budget, with levels cleverly named in honour of Cayman’s
sea turtles - the “Grand Green Sea Turtle” is the premier level
followed by the “Mighty Loggerhead”, the “Hawksbill”, and the
Batabano Turtle Tracks sponsorship level.

The
word “Batabano” is said to be a native Caymanian word used to
refer to the tracks that turtles leave in the sand when they go
ashore to nest during turtle nesting season from May to November each
year, which is why holding Cayman Carnival Batabano in early May is
so significant as a time for celebration.

Other
(adult) Batabano sponsorship opportunities include:

1. Parade
   competition cash prizes and trophies for: Batabano Band Of The Year,
   plus a trophy; Second Place prize, plus a trophy; and Third Place,
   plus a trophy
   
2. Kings,
   Queens, and Individual costume competition cash prizes and trophies
   
3. Event
   sponsorship for: Le Masque Fundraising Dinner Show on May 7th;
   the Friday Night Fete on May 8th;
   International Jouvert on May 9th;
   Las’ Lap Street Dance on May 9th;
   and the Batabano Food Festival on May 9th.
   
   
   

Junior
Batabano Parade and Family Fun Day will be held on Saturday May 2nd,
followed by the Junior Batabano Teen Dance that evening. Overall
Junior Batabano sponsorship levels, also named in honour of sea
turtles, are: “Green Sea Turtle” (Presenting Sponsor); the
“Mighty Loggerhead”; the “Hawksbill”; and the “Hatchling”
which is a sponsorship for individual, or all, participating school
groups.

Other
sponsorship opportunities for Junior Batabano include:

• Junior
  Batabano Teen Jam
  
• Junior
  Batabano King and Queen
  
• Family
  Fun Day
  
  

For
more sponsorship details, email batabanocaymancarnival@gmail.com
or call/message Mrs. Myrie-Stephen on 916-1740.

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ABOUT
CAYMAN CARNIVAL BATABANO

Established
in 1983 by the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman, Cayman Carnival Batabano
is the National Carnival of the Cayman Islands. A salute to Cayman’s
turtling heritage, “Batabano” is the native name for tracks left
in the sand when sea turtles go ashore to nest, which has always been
cause for celebration in the Cayman Islands. From humble beginnings,
Cayman Carnival Batabano has grown from a small parade with homemade
costumes and floats, to an international tourism attraction with
hundreds of masqueraders donning professional costumes by local and
international designers, parading down West Bay Road just steps from
Cayman’s iconic Seven Mile Beach. A unique carnival that fuses
culture and the arts via creative costumes, Caribbean music, local
crafts, and a Food Festival worthy of the Culinary Capital of the
Caribbean, Batabano is symbolically held over the first two weekends
of May (including Junior Batabano) as part of the celebration and
awareness of the start of Turtle Nesting Season. Today, the
non-profit Cayman Carnival Batabano Board of Directors is proud to
use its platform to promote and support local turtle conservation
efforts in the Cayman Islands. Part-proceeds from Batabano
sponsorships will help support select turtle conservation initiatives
locally, made possible only through the financial contributions of
Cayman’s corporate community and the local Government. For more
details, visit www.caymancarnival.com
and follow www.facebook.com/batabanocayman,
www.instagram.com/caymancarnivalbatabano,
and www.twitter.com/batabano_cayman.