Caribbean Arts and Crafts Festival opens on Trellis Bay [Photo-slide Included]
The one-week Festival has drawn artisans from all over the Caribbean and even South America as Venezuela is also represented.
His Highness Prince Richard noted it was a great pleasure to visit the Virgin Islands on the occasion of the celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee but it was also a great pleasure to be able to attend the Caribbean Arts and Crafts Festival. “I am delighted in my few minutes looking around here to see there is a huge range of talent and imagination. They have been turning what others might thought of as waste materials into something that is rather very beautiful,” His Highness Prince Richard remarked, noting too that he hopes all the persons visiting the festival would enjoy themselves and probably spend a little money!
“It always seems to me that the more we live in the age of mass production, whether vast design teams of technicians and engineers and scientists bringing materials from all over the world and making incredibly clever things like mobile phones, at the end of the scale there are a whole lot of people who love to do their own thing and do it in their own way and I think that gives encouragement to the design process to feel that their instincts are of value and their taste are of value even if it’s just them and it’s not a huge international team producing it,” the Duke added.
Local Artisan Reuben Vanterpool, who is a Co-founder of the BVI Chapter of the Caribbean Artisan Network, thanked the many artists who have travelled to the Virgin Islands to be a part of the Festival, including from Trinidad, Dominica, Jamaica, Suriname, Curacao, St. Marteen, Puerto Rico and USVI.
He noted the Festival is the brainchild of Aragorn Dick-Read, whose tireless efforts in keeping it alive, has now resulted in a steady increase and participation over the years.
Mr. Vanterpool also commended The East End/Long Look Straw Workers for them being honoured at this year’s Festival and preserving a skill that was a cornerstone of the VI society. He noted as a youth he knew about straw work and it being a very important part of his village life because it helped to put food on the table for many persons.
He said straw work is a special skill, “and the persons from East End are the ones who have taken it from the early days to where it is now and I want to commend the people of East End in particular for where they have reached over the years in straw work. It’s a well-deserved honour.”
BVI Tourist Board representative Mr. Elmore Stoutt congratulated Mr. Dick-Read and Mr. Vanterpool, along with the planning committee for the extensive work which they have put in to making the event “a special feature for the British Virgin Islands”.
“This event has attracted many artisans and visitors to our shores. The Tourist Board welcomes all of you and extends warm embrace.”
Mr. Stoutt also commended the straw workers on being honoured and thanked them “for preserving the culture, passing on the skills and enhancing the tourism product. You are integral to keeping this British Virgin Islands on the cutting edge of cultural tourism. The Board sees this event as important stepping stones or springboards for our local artists. Events like this helps to unearth the dormant skills of our people. It also helps to reconnect with our culture and to expand our tourism product”.
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Sponsors for this year’s Festival include Caribbean Colours, LIAT for bringing the artistes from the various countries at a discount rate, Sol, Guana Island, Rosewood Little Dix Bay Resort, Bitter End Yacht Club, YCCS and BVI Tourist Board.
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