BASSETERRE, St. Kitts –- WITH the Federation counting down the days to one of the biggest events on its calendar of activities for the Summer, private sector entities have been flexing their corporate muscles in support of the 18th Annual St. Kitts Music Festival and some of its related events.
One of those related events is the Third Annual White Sands Swimsuit Competition; the official St. Kitts Music Festival’s ‘Cool Down Event’ to be hosted by the Carambola Beach Club at South Friars Bay in the Southeast Peninsula.
For this event, the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Limited, LIME and Carib Brewery (St. Kitts-Nevis Limited) on Friday (Jun. 6) presented sponsor cheques to Christopher Evelyn, the General Manager of Carambola Beach Club.
Speaking with SKNVibes Business, Evelyn said the event is a one-night ‘after party for the Music Festival’ and that it has the endorsement of the Music Festival Committee and the Ministry of Tourism.
The General Manager stated that the event has grown over the years, as the crowd had significantly increased in the second year beyond the organisers’ expectation.
Explaining what prompted the idea of hosting the White Sands Swimsuit Competition, Evelyn said: “We were looking at doing some sort of festival right after the Music Festival, because we have a number of stay over guests on island just after Music Festival. And the consensus was that there was nothing for them to do, because there is a gap right after the Festival.
“We decided that we know that we have got a lot of people on island and why not do something free. So those persons who don’t want to go and pay for it, they can come to our free event.”
General Manager of LIME (St. Kitts-Nevis) David Lake handed over a cheque to the tune of $25 000 to offset expenses for the Competition and told SKNVibes that his company is happy to partner with White Sands for yet another year.
“We see White Sands as an extension of the Music Festival. In fact, it enhances the weekend experience for Music Festival and we are premium sponsor of that event, and it is a very natural extension for us to get involved.
He stated that the relationship that LIME has with the organisers would see them partnering next year and, by extension, years to come.
And National Bank Marketing Manager Shirna Pemberton revealed that the financial institution had partnered with Carambola Beach Club in 2012 and 2013 and that both years were successful.
She added that the company does not expect anything different this time around, as they sponsor the Swimsuit Competition for the third time.
“The organisers of the event approached us for sponsorship and we did it the first year and we thought it was a huge success. We did it the second year and was even more of a success, and now we are doing it a third year.”
She stated that the company receives a lot of mileage and coverage from the sponsorship of the event and so they would continue to be a good corporate citizen by chipping in with sponsorship at event like the White Sands Swimsuit Competition.
National Bank handed over a Cheque for $8 000 and Carib Brewery handed over $12 000, bringing the total sponsorship to $45 000.
The White Sands Swimsuit Competition will be held on Sunday (Jun. 29) at Carambola Beach Club and patrons wearing white will gain free entry, while those without will have to pay $10 at the door.
