By Chakara Bennett, Guardian Summer Intern

June came, and almost went before word came from the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation that the annual Junkanoo in June celebrations had been pushed back to July, and was renamed Junkanoo Summer Festival, putting the minds of Bahamians at ease, because they finally had a definitive answer about something to get excited about.

With the move from June to July, the festival will avoid the heavy rains of June and should avoid any washouts, and take the shape of a music and heritage festival from July 12 to August 2, at Arawak Cay every Saturday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., celebrating the roots of Bahamian cultural activities.

"Those attending Junkanoo Summer Festival this year will notice a marked, down-home flavor to all the festivities," said Janet Johnson, director of Product and Events Strategy in the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation. "There will be lots of music, and we have made a concerted effort to provide an acoustic sound. While the electronic enhancements of rake 'n scrape are still popular, our visitors and residents will have a unique experience this summer, listening to the natural sounds of the saw, the scrubbing board, the tin tub, and the goatskin drum."

There has been a concerted effort to put on display more down-home cultural events for the festival. Musical entertainers will include Ed Moxey, Lassie Doe Boys, Traffic Jam and Berkeley Van Bird. The inclusion of Bahamian dances will also be more pronounced according to Johnson.

The festival site will feature a cultural dance workshop. In the workshop, the National Dance School will demonstrate and teach traditional dances of The Bahamas.

According to tourism officials, delaying the start of the summer festival is the best thing in order to begin during a time that normally provides more favorable weather as the festival was marred several times last year by torrential rains.

Bahamian cuisine will of course be front and center stage, along with the other activities. "The bread-baking and cooking demonstrations have become very popular over the years, so we're going back to basics with instruction in preparing crab 'n' rice, peas 'n' rice, macaroni and cheese and other Bahamian favorites," said Johnson.

You can also expect your regular supply of sweets and treats, roasted corn, home-made ice cream, snow cones, Mortimer's candies and other Bahamianized carnival food, accompanied by all your favorite side dishes and meats prepared in a plethora of ways. Something is bound to catch your fancy.

She further said that the festival at Arawak Cay will allow patrons to take part in many activities that Bahamians enjoy for recreation and identify as part of culture. Many of the activities will take the form of organized competitions like pineapple eating, crab-catching, corn-shucking and onion-peeling. In addition, backgammon and domino competitions will be organized.

Junkanoo parades will be held each week for the enjoyment of audiences.

Fringe events of the festival will include special presentations of ThoughtKatcher's Da Spot comedy series at the Dundas every Tuesday from June 17 to Aug. 19 and the Royal Poincianna Tea Party at the British Colonial Hilton on June 27 and July 25. In addition, the National Youth Choir will present special concerts of traditional Bahamian music and Broadway show tunes at the Dundas on June 21 and 28, at 8 p.m. each night.

This year's Junkanoo Summer Festival will be spectacular. You will not want to miss a single day of it!

The Bahamas National Children's Choir will kick off the festival with a concert that you will not soon forget at the Dundas Theater. They will perform the music that they will showcase at the World Choir Olympics in Austria, July 9-19 against 90 other countries for world supremacy. The choir's debut performance is Saturday, June 21 and the encore Saturday, June 28 both at 8 p.m.

Choir director, Cleophas Adderley, is excited to be presenting the choir to the Bahamian people before they compete internationally.

And what is the use of being out on Arawak Cay if you can't get some good "ole" seafood? So, you know the usual Arawak Cay vendors and the festival vendors will have you set with their own individual recipes on how to prepare the island's best conch salad, crack conch, scorched conch, conch stew, stewed fish, minced fish, fried fish and of course the all-mighty conch fritters. Mm-mm-mm, if that doesn't make you want to go to this festival then I don't know what will.

And what is a Junkanoo Summer Festival without the Junkanoo music? So you can be assured that there will be live performances from a mixture of your favorite groups like the Saxon Superstars, One Family, Valley Boys, Roots, Colors and The Tribe.

Junkanoo Summer Festival Schedule:

When: Saturdays, July 12-Aug 2

Where: Arawak Cay

Time: 2 p.m.-8 p.m.

Admission: Free, excluding food and drink purchases

Pre-Festival Activities

National Children's Youth Choir Performances-

When: Saturday, June 21 and Saturday, June 25

Where: The Dundas Theater, Mackey St.

Time: 8:00 p.m.

Cost: TBA

ThoughtKatcher's Da Spot Comedy Series

Where: The Dundas Theater

When: Every Tuesday, June 17-Aug 19

And the Royal Poincianna Tea Party at the British Colonial Hilton on June 27 and July 25.

Cost: TBA

For more information call Clarence Rolle on 302-2000.