BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SEVERAL actors and actresses from the popular African movie industry, Nollywood, are expected to feature during the 2016 staging of the annual St. Kitts Music Festival.
This announcement came during a press conference for the launch of Diplomatic Week held on Monday (Apr. 4) at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort, where a number of Diplomats had engaged local media representatives.
Honorary Consul of St. Kitts and Nevis to Nigeria, Tessy Ekpunobi revealed that the actors and actresses would be in the Federation when Easy Link Aviation Service Airline makes its inaugural flight to the Federation in June.
Last year, an agreement was signed between Nigeria and St. Kitts and Nevis, which paved the way for the airline to fly the St. Kitts route.
“I also observed that St. Kitts and Nevis people like Nigerian Music as well as the Nollywood Film Industry. So I have attracted the actors and they will be flying out on the inaugural flight to St. Kitts in June to present at the Music Festival,” Ekpunobi said.
She also disclosed that another group of Nigerians is expected to grace the Federation’s shores in September for the Independence celebration.
The Honorary Counsel noted that the aircraft, 737/800, has a capacity of 148 seats and that the inaugural flight already has a full complement of passengers.
While the Easy Link Aviation Service Airline will be providing once per week service to St. Kitts, it is expected to increase in the latter part of the year to twice per week, depending on the response from tourists and air travel.
St. Kitts and Nevis, like several other Caribbean islands, has become home for a number of Nigerian and other African students studying medicine and other health-related programmes at offshore universities.
There are currently over 800 medical students in St. Kitts and Nevis studying, Ekpunobi said.
Against that backdrop, Consul Ekpunobi stated that she has been promoting the Federation as a tourism destination for newlyweds and others interested in vacationing in St. Kitts and Nevis.
“St. Kitts and Nevis tourism continues to be a big area for me, so I promote and have been promoting St. Kitts and Nevis in that respect. We have vacation packages such as weddings, honeymoons as well as romantic packages...This is also a good avenue for the other side of the Caribbean.”
Meanwhile, when asked about the possibility of locals being trained by Nollywood filmmakers, Ekpunobi declared that it was an idea for consideration going forward.
