With the exception of a few minor hiccups, the August Emancipation Festival’s 60th anniversary celebrations were a resounding success. We trust that everyone who participated enjoyed themselves as much as we did.
To our thinking, the various changes and additions this year worked out well. The shorter format, for example, helped make each day’s activities more meaningful, and bringing the festivities back to Road Town for fireworks and a reasonably priced concert was a particularly nice touch.
We were also pleased by the many events that focused on emancipation and other aspects of Virgin Islands history.
The August Monday Parade, for example, included displays ranging from farm animals to crafts to fishing demonstrations. And, besides greater participation than usual at the Sunday Morning Well service, a new event was added celebrating the rich history of the free African community in Nottingham Estate. We hope that such events will expand and multiply in the future.
Much of this year’s success doubtlessly can be attributed to careful planning, which started far in advance of the celebrations. Shortly after the 2013 Festival, a committee was established to advise on the way forward.
We hope to see similar diligence in the coming months. An early start will help to improve upon the events that met with challenges this year, such as the East End/Long Look Festival Parade, where attendance was low.
Perhaps it is time for that village to consider replacing its parade — which is typically a smaller version of Road Town’s — with a new event. Organisers might consider hosting a day of activities focusing on the village’s traditions and history, like their Carrot Bay counterparts.
Now that the Festival celebrations are over, we also hope to see transparency about how taxpayers’ money was spent.
Less than three months after the 2012 festivities, a report by the VI Festivals and Fairs Committee was released to the public. It detailed several problems — including an egregious lack of accountability and poor fiscal management — and made recommendations for improvement.
Unfortunately, the public has not learned if these recommendations were carried out, because the 2013 report has yet to be released. This is unfortunate. The 2005 VI Festivals and Fairs Committee Act requires the committee to record its financial transactions and to submit a report to the minister of education and culture; the minister, in turn, is required to lay the report before the legislature, thereby making it public.
We call on Education and Culture Minister Myron Walwyn to lay the 2013 report on the table at the next HOA meeting, and to follow by the end of November with a report on this year’s celebrations.
Besides assuring taxpayers that their money was well spent, such transparency is critical in making improvements in the future.
We wish a hearty congratulations to everyone who contributed positively to this year’s celebrations, and we urge the entire community to work together to build on this success.
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