Maskanoo Stalled by Years of Underfunding, Says Founder David Bowen

David Bowen, former Director of Culture and widely credited as the pioneer behind Maskanoo, says the iconic cultural celebration has yet to reach the scale and cultural impact he originally envisioned largely because it was never properly funded.

David Bowen demonstrates the playing of the Ripsaw at a TIDES Training.

Bowen, who now serves as Wellness Director at Grace Bay Club, has walked away from the event, while maintaining his role as an advisor. For many residents, Maskanoo is inseparable from his name and stage presence. Still, he maintains that despite its success, the festival evolved only through personal sacrifice and informal support networks rather than sustained financial investment.

“The biggest problem with Maskanoo was that it was not properly funded,” Bowen lamented. “I worked on a shoestring (budget) for years just making things work.”

He explained that instead of institutional backing, the event often relied on favors from friends and artisans who discounted their services to support him personally.

“A lot of times people only came out to do certain things because they were my friends and they didn’t charge me a lot of money. We didn’t get the kind of financial support that’s required. Maskanoo could have been a lot further along.”

Bowen said he always imagined the festival growing into a larger, more immersive celebration that would stand uniquely as a Turks and Caicos cultural showcase, rather than blending into a regional trend of carnival-style productions. He warned against allowing the event to become derivative, saying the island’s heritage should remain the core focus.

“What I’ve always wanted was for us to build our own identity, not copy what happens in other carnivals,” he said.

 His vision includes expanding stage performances and parade elements, growing the presence of local cuisine rooted in traditional foodways, and giving artisans a larger platform to exhibit and sell authentic craftwork.

“It’s to make the experience again a Turks and Caicos experience,” he said.

Bowen’s absence from recent editions of Maskanoo raised questions from long-time attendees, many noting that beyond performing, he played a pivotal educational role. His storytelling often woven into drumming, dance, and historical narration, was viewed as a cultural anchor that helped audiences understand the event’s origins in West African masquerade traditions and Bahamian Junkanoo influences.

Bowen agrees that his role has always been more than entertainment. Through performance, he said, he teaches culture.

 “My presence was never just to perform. I share history while I’m on stage. That’s always been important to me.”

His decision to step back, however, was driven not by artistic differences but by family circumstances. Bowen said his daughter recently gave birth to a child with complications, and he chose to redirect his time toward family rather than managing a major cultural production.

“I didn’t want to have the planning and the headaches of doing Maskanoo at a time when the family was going through the situation,” he said. The unexpected pause also offered him a rare moment of personal rest. “I realized, whoa, I enjoyed my Christmas time,” he added, noting that years of organizing the festival meant he rarely had a traditional holiday season.

Although Bowen remains passionate about Maskanoo’s cultural significance, he said he will not return without a clear budget and meaningful financial commitment.

“If I were given a budget of X amount of money and a go-ahead, trust me, I would be back there in a second,” he said. “I’m just tired of having to go begging for two cents to color a $10 thing. I can’t do it any longer.”

Still, Bowen says he is proud of what the event has become and hopes current organizers continue building upon the foundation he established.

“I did my part. I showed that it’s possible,” he said. “I hope the people who are doing it now stick with the original idea, to keep it local, to keep it focused, and build up from the foundation that’s already established.”