VI should host one Festival Village for 60th Anniversary – Lesmore Smith
In an exclusive interview with Virgin Islands News Online, Head of Top Priority Security Service, Mr Lesmore Smith suggested this as one of several recommendations he would like to see implemented by the Virgin Islands Festival & Fairs Committee (VIF&FC).
“I think that next year’s festive season, I believe strongly that we should come together in one location, that’s my opinion. It’s our 60th anniversary… come together and bring all our festivities, bring the East End, Carrot Bay Village into Road Town itself where our Festive Village is,” Smith disclosed.
He felt that it was impractical for vendors to have booths for two days each at either of the Festival Villages in Carrot Bay or East End where vendors may not be able to either make any significant profit or even recoup the cost of building the booths that they have built.
He recommended that some reorganisation be done with regards to the layout of the Festival Village in Road Town which would allow for the relocation of the stage closer to the ocean and placement of the Coney Island to another location such as the nearby Althea Scatliffe school grounds for example.
“You have [members of] the Christian community that don’t wish to participate in all that noise and there are parents that want to go with their kids but don’t want to have to pay to go in the Village for their children just to go and ride something if it’s a paying night. We have to pay because that’s what the rule says,” Smith offered.
He also felt more of the VI’s local culture could be brought back to the Road Town Festival such as the plait-pole added to the Rotary Club’s Kiddies Fiesta, “you combine that with such an environment where the kids have their time to be themselves and not to be in the adult environment with the level of intoxication and all those stuff. Give them the moment to be children, but in a celebrative way and enjoy themselves and understand what it means to be free, why they’re there, the emancipation process.”
Smith also recommended a reallocation of some of the days assigned for festival activities such as the adult and children’s parades and horse racing.
He also felt that the Festival Village should be closed off at an earlier time such as 2AM or 3AM instead of going later into the morning hours. “It’s about time people learn to come together for one common goal,” he reasoned, “we are too separated by petty differences. We are saying that we are being emancipated, then show our true emancipation by unity.”
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24 Responses to “VI should host one Festival Village for 60th Anniversary – Lesmore Smith”
In town we have more nights but lesser quality acts with smaller fan bases so we need the whole week + to make $$$ b/c we have 20+ booths & other vendors competing with us.
How dare you suggest that the ppl of East & NorthWest don't have their celebrations for the 60th all I ask is that everyone come together & support all the celebrations in all areas. That is unity. Not forcing everyone to come to one spot respect their communities.
And the festival time is just fine it's only 2weeks out of 52, let them fete til 4am.