As Barbados prepares to welcome thousands of performers, delegates and visitors for the regional showcase of CARIFESTA XV, the head of the local medical association urged the public to exercise increased health precautions amid rising COVID-19 cases in the United States and ongoing concerns globally.
On the eve of the opening of the 10-day premier regional cultural showcase that has attracted more than 2 000 people from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), North and South America, and Africa, the president of the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP), Dr Lynda Williams, advised that mask-wearing may be necessary for some attendees at mass gatherings.
“They are having a [COVID] spike right now in the USA in some states,” Dr Williams told Barbados TODAY, adding that after North America experienced a winter spike, it is now facing a summer spike.
“I don’t know there is much more I can tell Barbadians except that in crowds, be cautious,” she added, while urging the wearing of masks, especially around people who have a cough.
More than 25 countries will be represented here, including all CARICOM member states and international participants from Ghana, Brazil, Colombia and Cuba. Other specific delegations confirmed to attend include groups from Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Jamaica. Organisers have promised one of the biggest and most inclusive festivals in the event’s history, with CARIFESTA XV delegation leader Andrea Wells assuring that the island is ready to host the highly anticipated regional programme of performances, exhibitions and cultural exchanges.
Most activities will be free to the public, though tickets for certain headline events are on sale at the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) at West Terrace and online.
The Barbados delegation will comprise about 750 performers and creatives, contributing to a festival featuring disciplines from culinary arts, dance and music to visual arts, theatre and fashion.
The opening ceremony on Friday will begin at Freedom Park, Golden Square, before culminating at Queen’s Park, and will include a fashion show through Broad Street.
CARIFESTA XV will also feature projects designed to engage members of the disabled community. Rodney Ifill, cultural officer with responsibility for community visual arts at the NCF, highlighted a “touch mural” project spearheaded by the Wiltshire family – renowned Barbadian potters – and installed on the northern wall of the Careenage opposite the Treasury Building.
Other visual arts highlights will include a 62-by-11-foot urban mural by Ecuadorian artist Juan Sebastián Aguirre, better known as Apitatán, mural refurbishments around the island, and a community beautification project.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
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