ArcaMax

Nash Ferguson said using those newspapers might have been "passive resistance" on the slaves' part, as they were forbidden from learning to read or write. She has those historic costumes in the museum, some made of used rags, as well as more recent ones. One year, Nash Ferguson went dressed as a hailstorm in baby blue and white.

Young Bahamians, she said, earn thousands of dollars gluing the paper onto the intricate costumes, some as tall as 15 feet, some weighing 80 pounds.

Groups work on the costumes, the dancing and the music all year, working in "shacks" around the island that might be simple backyard cottages.

No matter what the temperature, the marchers wear these heavy, hot costumes for hours. The parade starts at 2 a.m. and lasts into midday the next day. "We're still dancing at midday," Nash Ferguson said. "It just captivates you every year."

And as soon as one festival is done, the group -- that may include hundreds of people -- start working on their theme and their costume design for the next year with entire families involved.

Families, of course, are central to Bahamian life and culture. Longtime local Romeo Farrington says it's important for tourists to see more than Nassau's famous Straw Market or Atlantis' waterslides. "Too many people never leave the resort while they are here," he says.

They are missing a lot, including the chance to be hosted by locals via the People-To-People experience that is completely free. The Abaco Beach Resort has taken the concept a step further, enlisting local kids to join young hotel guests for supervised activities that stress Bahamian culture. (Read what I wrote about it here, http://www.takingthekids.com/weekly-column/visiting-kids-should-not-leave-the-bahamas-without-meeting-the-local-kids/.)

Bahamians always want to share their culture with visitors, says Nash Ferguson, and visitors should join the fun, she says.

"We have a fabulous time telling stories with the costumes, the dance and the music," she said.

Besides, "You can tell a story and reinvent yourself each year." And what can be better than that.

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