Barbados is preparing to welcome more than 2 000 cultural representatives from across the Caribbean and beyond when CARIFESTA XV opens next Friday, with organisers promising one of the biggest and most inclusive festivals in the event’s history.
At a media briefing on Friday, CARIFESTA XV delegation leader Andrea Wells assured that the island is ready to host the highly anticipated regional programme of performances, exhibitions and cultural exchanges.
Wells said: “We have a very rich and layered programming with activities for persons of all ages and all interests because that cultural training development is core to our mandate.
“Our programme is not only showcasing where our artists get to show off what they have to offer, but great investment in training and development.
“We intend collectively that CARIFESTA will leave a lasting legacy impact in terms of development through arts education for our Barbadian community, and we’re sharing this richness with our Caribbean brothers and sisters.”
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.
“Some tickets are going really quickly like hot cakes for those of you who are interested in some of the major CARIFESTA shows . . . those that are ticketed are going fast, but come out and support like we say, Barbados has a lot to offer, we are doing our thing,” Wells added.
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 will begin at Freedom Park Golden Square before culminating at Queen’s Park, including a fashion show parading through Broad Street.
Jewel Forde, local media relations and communications coordinator for CARIFESTA XV, said the event is attracting an unprecedented number of participants from across the region.
She said: “We’re even getting, I believe, Guadeloupe is on that list, so we’re seeing some representation from the French Caribbean, Suriname, Belize, so from the Dutch Caribbean we’re also seeing representation. We are expecting at last count . . . more than 1 500 people in just delegations alone, and those are the official country delegations. People are [also] coming on their own outside the delegation. So it is going to be phenomenal.”
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.
“There is a huge exciting programme that we’re going to roll out for you, inclusive of the persons with disabilities, in the form of a touch mural project done by the Wiltshire family,” Ifill said. “We encourage Barbadians to explore this sensory project because it wants to encourage you to go out there and see what it feels like to see in your mind as you feel and touch the mural and engage in some of the sensory aspects that we will add to the mural.”
Other visual arts highlights will include a 62-by-11-foot urban mural by Ecuadorian urban artist Juan Sebastián Aguirre, better known as Apitatán, mural refurbishments around the island, and a community beautification project. (SB)
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