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 adopted local 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 thousands 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 (with Junior Batabano held on the first weekend and the Adult Batabano held on the second weekend) as part of the celebration and awareness of the start of Turtle Nesting Season. For more details, visit www.caymancarnival.com and follow www.facebook.com/batabanocayman, www.instagram.com/caymancarnivalbatabano, and www.twitter.com/batabano_cayman.