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71st VI Emancipation Festival launched

-Mr Neil E. Frett is this year's festival honoree
The 71st Virgin Islands Emancipation Celebration will run from July 13 to August 9, 2025. Photo: Facebook
Mr Neil E. Frett has been named the 2025 Virgin Islands Emancipation Festival Honoree. Photo: Facebook
Mr Neil E. Frett has been named the 2025 Virgin Islands Emancipation Festival Honoree. Photo: Facebook
Several activities are planned for the 71st Virgin Islands Emancipation Festival. Photo: Facebook
Several activities are planned for the 71st Virgin Islands Emancipation Festival. Photo: Facebook
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI- The 71st Virgin Islands Emancipation Festival was launched yesterday, Friday, May 30, 2025.

The festival will run from July 13 to August 9, 2025, under the theme ‘Uniting our Culture, Freedom and Joy in the Virgin Islands for Festival 2025’. This year’s slogan is ‘Embrace the Past, Let Unity Thrive as we Celebrate Emancipation Festival 2025!’

Several activities are scheduled, including the Miss BVI Pageant, Prince and Princess Pageant, Mr and Miss Jr BVI Pageant, International Reggae Night, International Soca Night, Carrot Bay Cultural Day, and much more. 

Mr Neil E. Frett, this year’s festival honouree

The Festival Village Opening will take place on July 25, 2025, and Mr Neil E. Frett has been named as this year's festival honouree. 

Mr Frett, who has been involved in the festival since 1974, said he is surprised to be named this year’s Virgin Islands Emancipation Celebration Honouree. 

“It’s not something I expected,”  he said, however added he is “very happy”.

Enjoy this year's festival 'safely'- Joseph Smith-Abbot 

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sustainable Development, Joseph Smith-Abbot, encouraged all to “safely enjoy this period of our Emancipation Celebration and do so in the spirit of national unity”. 

He also promised continued support from the Ministry for the emancipation celebrations.

This year’s theme winner is Mrs Briana Henley-Mather, while the slogan winner is Mr Jacob Edwards. 

7 Responses to “71st VI Emancipation Festival launched”

  • Light bulb moment (31/05/2025, 09:34) Like (10) Dislike (6) Reply
    Thanks for this notice - I needed it to remind me to get my ticket out of the BVI for late July and early August.
  • 1 (31/05/2025, 09:43) Like (3) Dislike (1) Reply
    At least they out early
  • Herbs Powa (31/05/2025, 13:09) Like (3) Dislike (2) Reply
    We want a free festival village like the USVI. Alred Frett for Premier next election.
  • Well Sah (31/05/2025, 13:10) Like (11) Dislike (2) Reply
    "Uniting our culture"? In this xenophobic country? Well aah, tell me what irony and hypocrisy look like without telling me what irony and hypocrisy look like. Nothing cultural about dressing naked and dancing like vulgar animals in the wee hours of the morning and calling it emancipation celebration.
  • Woooi wooi (31/05/2025, 20:16) Like (5) Dislike (0) Reply
    It’s that time of the year again when the ladies get to show out their vaajaayjaays and their milk containers . And it’s that time again when the guys get to show off their wild gyrating skills infront of our children. On the ground, on the bank, on the pavement, against the wall, against the truck, up on the car bumpa…in the middle ah de road….woooiiii new tune deh messon. Yes by all means let’s embrace the past! Happy emancipation y’all
  • music is life (01/06/2025, 00:10) Like (4) Dislike (0) Reply
    Can't wait to hear what songs playing to the youths and population. Only to hear later that the premier is against criminality but got criminals or artist singing about a certain lifestyle to us. Lmfao
  • Honoring ancestors (01/06/2025, 08:47) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    Festival committee, I hope you all have some standards in place for the quality of the parade costumes that entrants will be wearing. It has become quite distasteful over the years. Something needs to be done about the fact that scantily dressed men and women grinding down in the streets claiming to be”honoring our fore fathers”. I just have one question for all of us, IS THIS WHY OUR FORE FATHERS WERE LYNCHED, BEATEN, SODOMIZED, BOILED, STARVED, TORN TO PIECES LIMB BY LIMB, RAPED, MAIMED…..is this really what all that suffering paid for?? Committee you all should be ashamed of yourselves because it starts with you. Festival is a time for family and friends to reflect on all the suffering and blood shed but instead it focuses on everything demonic. From the overly sexual songs we be grinding too, the skimpy costumes, the conduct of the adults at the gatherings, it’s all distasteful. We can’t have children around this mess. We are slowly deconstructing our culture brick by brick, and that is because we no longer know who we are. We are always quick to embrace outside influence. I agree things change over time and change is inevitable, but all change is not good. My God we don’t even greet each other on the streets anymore. People go in and out of businesses and don’t even say good morning or good afternoon.


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