Friday, June 25, 2010
THE 14TH ANNUAL ST. KITTS MUSIC FESTIVAL
OPENS WITH A FOCUS ON THE CARIBBEAN
** Legendary Music Icons Capture the Moment **
Basseterre, St. Kitts – The opening night of the 14th Annual St Kitts Music Festival featured a captivating blend of some of the best past and contemporary music the Caribbean has to offer. From the first act right through to the last, St. Kitts’ Warner Park stadium came alive Thursday night, the first of three consecutive nights of world class stage performances.
“I think the opening night’s experience verifies that the St. Kitts Music Festival mix of local- and regional-conscious reggae, soca and classical calypso is the right mix for the opening night,” said Senator Ricky Skerritt, Minister of Tourism & International Transport. “We always have seen ourselves as a Caribbean Festival first. In fact, we pride ourselves in being the leading ‘truly Caribbean’ Music Festival, with the eclectic mix of music reflecting the rich and diverse heritage of our region.”
Perennial favorite reggae group Third World, celebrating 37 years together, headed off the evening’s line-up, playing their vintage favorites for almost two hours with the crowd always demanding just one more. Up next was local calypso icon, King Star Shield. The former calypso king had the crowd cheering with appreciation from song to song.
The legendary King Ellie Matt followed next and immediately connected with the lively audience in a way that that brought back fond memories of his past years of international calypso and soca excellence of ‘Ellie Matt & The GI’s Brass’ fame. Perhaps the most powerful and defining moment of the evening for all St. Kitts & Nevis nationals and calypso lovers came towards the end of Ellie Matt’s performance when he sang the song that many credit for uniting Kittitians in the Diaspora, “St. Kitts I Love You.” Singing at that point without any backup music, his enraptured and adoring homeland crowd joined in with his every word as he captivated the audience with his remarkable melody and simple yet powerful words.
Trinidad & Tobago soca super star couple, Bunji Garlin & Faye Ann Lyons took center stage next and moved the action to a higher energy level, with the large, party-hungry crowd “jamming and moving” in all directions for more than an hour. The lively response from the St. Kitts Music Festival fans seemed to excite the multiple ‘International soca monarch’ winners to give St. Kitts one of their best ever joint performances. Bringing the first night’s action home just short of 4:00 a.m., the renowned Jamaican master, Capleton, treated the large audience to a “prophetic” performance that ended the evening with the crowd already looking forward to the Festival’s second night.
Gates open at 5:00pm and performances begin at 8:00pm each evening. Tickets to the 14th Annual St. Kitts Music Festival are US $40 per person, per night.
Now in its 14th consecutive year, the festival attracts both residents and visitors alike and is known for featuring rising local talent alongside internationally-renowned acts. It features a mix of musical styles on the popular market, including R&B, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Soca, Calypso, Gospel and Contemporary, to name a few. Past artists have included such prominent acts as John Legend, T-Pain, Michael Bolton, KC & the Sunshine Band, Wyclef Jean, Ne-Yo, Air Supply, Dionne Warwick, Billy Ocean, Sean Paul, Boyz II Men, King Konris, Stephen Marley, Regina Belle, Maxi Priest, Biggie Irie and Lord Nelson.
Located in the northern Leeward Islands of the Caribbean, St. Kitts offers a diverse tourism product developed from the destination’s natural beauty, cultural heritage and rich history. The island’s stunning variety of tourism attractions include hiking through the tropical rainforest, riding the scenic railway that connects the island’s sugar plantations, visiting the Caribelle Batik factory, touring Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, the only man-made UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Eastern Caribbean, and the more traditional vacation pastimes such as watersports, golf, shopping, tennis, gourmet dining, gaming at one of St. Kitts’ two casinos or simply relaxing on one of the island’s sandy beaches. Guests can select from accommodations ranging from intimate plantation inns to larger hotels or resorts.
For more information about St. Kitts, please contact the St. Kitts Tourism Authority toll free from the US at 1-800-582-6208 or from Canada 1-888-395-4887, e-mail info@stkittstourism.kn, visit www.stkittstourism.kn, or become a fan on Facebook and/or Twitter. For more information about the 14th Annual St. Kitts Music Festival, log on to www.stkittsmusicfestival.com.
Storm Entertainment in collaboration with trulycaribbean.net will be presenting INVASION, a three-day music and sports festival June 18-20 on Montserrat. Headlining the event will be Barbwire and DJ Blaize from St. Maarten. More acts will be added in the coming days. A DJ sound clash with $5000 in prize money is up for grabs. The weekend will be filled with lots of entertainment at various venues, a friendly cricket tourney between St. Maarten and Montserrat, a beach bash and an ultimate island tour. To find out more about the event visit 
The Green Monkey Dive Shop, in conjunction with Scuba Montserrat & the Montserrat Tourist Board, will be hosting the 2nd Annual Montserrat Dive Festival, from Saturday June 26 to Friday July 2, 2010. This year’s Festival will once again be held in conjunction with Montserrat’s annual Reef Check Programme. Reef Check is an international program dedicated to the conservation of tropical coral reefs. It combines education with action to give volunteers a unique experience while taking an active role in conserving the world’s reefs. The Montserrat Dive Festival will open with the Reef Check survey at two different sites. Participants will first take part in the Reef Check EcoDiver Certification Course that will combine both classroom and field training prior to the official surveys. Scuba divers are invited to participate. There is no cost for participating in this program but participants must be registered for the Montserrat Dive Festival. A variety of activities are available for registrants to include a Welcome Happy Hour and Movie Night at Green Monkey Dive Shop, a two and a half hour Plymouth Boat Tour and an island tour. For participants who have non-diving partners or children, the Green Monkey Dive Shop can organize other “top-side” adventures including nature hikes, snorkeling trips, bird watching, bicycle rentals or deep sea fishing excursions. The event will culminate with a closing Party on Friday July 2nd at Green Monkey Dive Shop. For further details call 664 496 2960 or go to 
The 5th Annual Calabash Festival is carded for July 18 -25, 2010. The week-long event offers a wide selection of festivities that highlights the creativity and talents of local artisans and designers. Named after the calabash fruit that was traditionally used to produce eating utensils, musical instruments and decorative items, the festival seeks to promote the destination through a range of events. This year’s program includes a daily Calabash Exhibition, an adventure hike, a gospel concert, Prof. Dr. George Irish Lecture Series, a Caribbean cultural food fair, cricket match and a grand finale summer music festival. For further information call Mrs. Florence Griffith Joseph on 664 492 1743 or email 
Montserrat showcases its African ancestry during Cudjoe Head celebrations that is scheduled to take place July 30th to August 1st, 2010. The night before the festival, Cudjoe Head Eve, is a time known for revelry and fun with a street festival that includes live music and vendors. This year, activities will include a five-mile race/walk, masquerades, sound system deejay shootout, dance competition, children’s games and an exclusive live band open air concert featuring special guest artistes. For further information contact Mr. Paul Lewis on 664 496 1611 or email 
Making her first rag doll at the tender age of twelve, Mrs. Juliana Meade, owner and entrepreneur of two souvenir shops discovered that she has a passion for sewing and cooking. She learnt the skills of sewing from her mother and by attending a number of private classes. In 1997, during the height of volcanic crisis, when Plymouth and areas South of Belham were evacuated, she saw the need for a souvenir shop in the North of the island. Her first shop ‘Island Craft’ thus materialised in Little Bay, which was at the time the main port of entry. Juliana is employed with the Ministry of Agriculture as the Cassava Coordinator and also organizes classes encouraging agro-processing to persons wishing to set up cottage industries. In 2003, the Ministry held the first Breadfruit Fest, an event in which Juliana was very instrumental in organizing. Due to the success of the Fest, the then Minister Mrs. Margaret Dyer Howe suggested they publish a book of recipes made from the breadfruit and so Juliana became co-author of the book entitled ‘Montserrat Breadfruit Recipe Book’. In 2005, when the airport opened at Gerald’s, Juliana opened the ‘Last Chance Gift Shop’ at this location. Juliana designs and makes over fifty items from the madras, the national fabric. She distributes volcano hot sauce – a tasty hot pepper sauce infused with Juliana’s secret ingredients, packages pumice rock and volcano ash as souvenir items and sells various fruit preserves in addition to her craft items. Persons interested in purchasing any of the products from her wide range of souvenirs can contact her on 664 492 1568 /491 8588 (evenings) or email 
