The returns are coming in: CARIFESTA XV was an extraordinary and memorable success for Barbados, rewarding unprecedented vibrancy with record-breaking attendance at major events and venues, and energising the nation’s creative spirit.
Not only the organisers within the Division of Culture, the National Cultural Foundation, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. and the wider public sector, but the countless workers and volunteers should take a bow for extending truly Bajan hospitality to visiting delegations and to our own. The affection we showed the stranger and the novel and the vintage gave us hope that our culture – who we are, the way we are and how we do what we do – is worthy of preserving and nurturing.
The festival’s signature Grand Market at Waterford, St Michael, on the tree-lined grounds of the former plantation, emerged as the heartbeat of the celebrations, drawing droves of Barbadians and visitors every day. Vendors reported robust sales and performances; the country nights were warmly received; no jingoistic, ‘Bajan-only’ arrogance need apply. The events at the new National Performing Arts Centre in Newton were packed, while super concerts, the Alvin Ailey II Dance Company, drama showcases, and nostalgic ‘Back in Time’ fetes lit up venues across the island—from Queen’s Park to community hubs such as the Youth Village. The public’s appetite was so strong, many lamented being spoilt for choice of events.
Despite early challenges, Barbados showed remarkable resilience and adaptability in surmounting the “rocky start” – as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr Shantal Munro-Knight bravely and maturely acknowledged – and organising a truly world-class festival. This spirit of collaboration and innovation is a lesson well worth embracing beyond the event. CARIFESTA XV reminds us that culture thrives not only through the spectacular and the extravaganza, but through spaces for dialogue and diversity—from marketplace exchanges of crafts to ‘Big Conversations’ on Caribbean identity and sustainability.
Now comes a vital obligation: to reflect on key lessons and shape the future of culture in our society—for our industry, for our way of life, and for genuine free expression.
To nurture culture as a living, breathing way of life, there must be continued investment in venues, open forums, and programmes that champion both tradition and novelty. Culture is not only an industry—it is how communities find their voice, question their world–and seek to make it better.
This compels us to look anew at our own homegrown celebration of arts and culture, the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA). Traditionally, NIFCA has been positioned as a competition for schools, amateurs, and professionals, showcasing talent within defined categories. Yet as globalisation and new artistic movements shape our landscape, NIFCA, too, must evolve. It should move beyond purely competitive frameworks into a more open, inclusive celebration—integrating forums, workshops, and collaborative platforms. It should echo the Grand Market ethos, breaking down barriers between genres and generations and putting Barbadians in direct contact with creatives and what they create. We could do worse than to have NIFCA reflect the best of CARIFESTA: a festival where every voice, every discipline, and every innovation contributes to the collective story of Barbadian identity, with requisite levels of investment and enterprise.
We accept that CARIFESTA was not simply a showcase of culture—it was a powerful economic engine. The hosting attracted thousands of regional visitors, boosted tourism, supported small businesses, and expanded opportunities for creative entrepreneurs. The government, with financial support from the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, ensured both robust promotion and technical assistance—yet transparency and accountability in spending must remain central. Detailed reporting on spending, impact, and measurable outcomes (from additional jobs to extended market reach) is essential for maintaining public trust and for evaluating the true, lasting benefit to Barbadian society, not only as a tourism event but as a wider cultural and economic driver. The political leadership must set a new cultural standard: open books, clear outcomes and a legacy plan that secures ongoing returns for the arts and the nation alike. It is, after all, the people’s money that created a people’s festival.
Make no mistake: Barbados has every reason to celebrate. CARIFESTA XV was a triumph of will. Now it should be the gift that goes on giving.
We look back to the fourth CARIFESTA, which in 1981 answered the question: Does Barbados have a culture? In a resounding affirmative, it woke up Barbadians to a culture that was always in their midst while giving a fillip to the artistic creation whose legacy made this 15th iteration the extraordinary success that it was. From CARIFESTA, we gained a National Cultural Foundation and venues to which we returned to craft new memories. Giants of sound and staging and lighting emerged from 1981; four decades later, their successors dazzled and delighted us.
So for yet more enduring change—where culture is freely expressed, wisely invested in, and full of possibility for all–let’s seize CARIFESTA XV as our opportunity to reimagine, reinvest, and renew the inheritance and essence of ourselves in the 21st-century Caribbean.
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