By Shawn Seabrookes
Reporter-SKNVibes
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| Mr. Halstead Byron, Chairman of the Nevis Culturama Committee | |
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Culturama 2007, Nevis' summer festival, which is being promoted as the Caribbean's greatest summer lime, was officially launched during a mid morning ceremony at the Red Cross Conference Room, in Charlestown, Nevis, on Friday 1st June.
The organizers of the festival are hoping to cash in on an improved marketing strategy which will not only enhance the economic viability of the festival but also improve on the unique appeal of the festival, which is steeped in local tradition.
The old adage "the early bird catches the worm" has taken on new meaning, as the launch comes two months in advance before the festival actually commences.
Culturama 2007, which operates under the theme "Feel de Riddim! It's Culturama 2007", commences on July 27th and ends on August 7th.
A number of activities will be held as part of the Culturama calendar including the Mr. Cool contest on August 3rd, the Senior Kaiso finals on the 4th and the Ms. Culture Pageant on the 5th.
The names of the calypsonians and the Ms. Culture contestants have not yet been disclosed because of logistical reasons but it is expected that they will be disclosed on June 6th.
Prior to the official start of the festival, there will be several fringe activities which include a drama festival.
The ceremony was also the platform where a number of corpaorate partners provided their sponsorship cheques.
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| The reigning Calypso King (L-R) and Culturama Queen of Nevis, Oscar "Astro" Browne and Cari Nicholas |
Cable and Wireless, through their Bmobile brand, is the official platinum sponsor for the event. Their sponsorship cheque was handed over by their CEO, Ms. Pat Walters, who indicated that this was just another gesture that illustrates the genuine interest that her company has in educational and social development.
She further spoke of her company's interest in linking with winners and noted that the very presence of the reigning Ms. Culture, Cari Nicholas, who is sponsored by Cable and Wireless, was testimony to this fact.
Cable and Wireless' sponsorship, in cash and kind, is in the amount of EC$150,000.
TDC is the other platinum sponsor for the highly anticipated summer festival.
Other corporate partners who presented their sponsorship cheques were the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank, First Caribbean International Bank, Carib Breweries, the Nevis Housing Development Corporation and the Nevis Air and Sea Port Authorities. These companies will each sponsor one of the Ms. Culture contestants, along with Cable and Wireless.
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| Cable and Wireless, through their bMobile brand, is a platinum sponsor for the evenCEO, Ms. Pat Walters hands cheques over to Hon. Hensley Daniel, Minister of Social Development and Culture, in the Nevis Island Administration |
Mr. Halstead Byron, Chairman of the Nevis Culturama Committee, indicated that he was quite pleased to have such an early launch and noted that he and his committee were working concertedly to ensure that the uniqueness of the Culturama brand is preserved.
He noted that Culturama is a traditional type festival and indicated that even though it is not easy, they need to focus on that "Nevisian thing".
Hon. Hensley Daniel, Minister of Social Development and Culture, in the Nevis Island Administration, was visibly excited about the upcoming festival and noted that they were actively pursuing incorporating Culturama into the National Cultural Foundation, which in turn will improve the accountability and transparency of the festival.
