Carifesta crowd cheers Rowley

DESPITE being away in Barbados on government business, the Prime Minister was keenly cheered by the audience at the mention of his name at the closing night of Carifesta XIV on Sunday. In fact, it happened more than once.

A huge cheer went up for Dr Rowley when he was thanked for his input to Carifesta XIV by Caricom assistant secretary general Douglas Slater.

Later on, Antigua and Barbuda culture minister Daryl Matthews publicly thanked Rowley and the Government for their efforts for Carifesta. Again, a cheer went up from the audience.

Rowley was represented by acting Prime Minister Colm Imbert, festively clad in a shirt that dazzled under the lights, but which was muted by the television cameras.

Imbert said the original vision for the festival was to inspire, entertain and show the region’s variety.

“Carifesta has always sought to depict the life of the people of our region – our heroes, traditions, beliefs and creative expressions – thus illustrating the similarities and differences of the people of our region, and creating a climate in which art can flourish.”

He said Carifesta XIV had been “one of the most productive and prolific,” with high levels of creativity and innovation.

“I am amazed at the participation of the private sector.”

Imbert listed the festival’s top achievements as a 35,000 daily attendance at the Grand Market, a virtual full attendance at all 35 locally-produced niche events, some 250 volunteers giving national service and $5 million in corporate donations. Viewing Carifesta XIV as a resounding success, he said, “It was incident free, of the highest quality and well attended.”

Imbert vowed to build on the festival to craft national policies for the creative arts, including developing financial incentives for our creative sector.

“In particular, we will use what we have learnt here to revitalize our rural and urban communities with cultural showcases and unique community-oriented festivals.”

Culture Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly likened the event to “a cultural supernova exploding in the hearts and minds of our Caribbean people.”

Saying FashionTT had hosted 30 regional designers, she said the festival’s Fashion District was a constant success and buzz of activity. The minister reckoned the Caribbean Food Market could prompt Caribbean culinary festivals to be set up.