During the 1940s and 1950s, social and community development of Tortola’s eastern end rested heavily on the initiatives of the church, the village head teacher, and the government agent of the district, which included East End, Long Look and Belle Vue.

Whether it was by introducing a saving bank in the school or cultivating food security through creating productive school or community gardens or preparing for festive and civic celebrations, the head teacher and the government agent played a major role. Villagers usually volunteered assistance, which was mostly practical, hands-on help with various projects. Money was scarce, and monetary donations were few, so residents donated time and contributed their imagination, ingenuity and creativity.

During the formative years of the East End/Long Look Festival, Carris Maxwell Penn Sr., the government agent for “District A,” was responsible for organising or helping to organise a number of civic and social activities in the community. The “Festival celebration” was one event that he organised, along with then-Head Teacher Willard Wheatley, but each member of the Festival Committee had specific responsibilities for the “village festival.” Obel Penn, Berisford Smith, Carl “Boyam” Penn, Ifield Lettsome, Maurice Potter, Louis Walters, Howard Greenaway, Sammy Thomas, Smokey Frett and others were associated with the committee.

The Festival queen contestants were the main fundraisers. They sold tickets for the show, and the selection of the queen was highly influenced by the amount of money raised. Picnics and fish fries held before the season also brought in funds.

The decorations

In those early years of unpaved roads, the street decorations did not come readily. Villagers were asked to decorate particular sections of the roadside, usually lining the area nearby where they lived. The lead organisers had to ensure that the venues where the queen was crowned and where the demonstrations were held were well appointed. Decorations were all handmade. Children assisted the adults in the process.

Preparations began in late June. Householders saved tin cans, which were painted in multi-colours; others were collected from outside shops, bars and along the road: soda cans, beer cans, V-8 juice cans, and other cans. They were all wiped or washed clean and painted in bright colours one day, and strung on strong string another day. As the season approached, the strings of cans were hung in designated areas.

Boys and girls helped to collect and paint the cans for decoration, but the girls were also kept busy cutting up many yards of red, white, yellow and blue cotton cloth into diagonal pieces for making the bunting. This writer remembers doing both, and assisting our mother, Clotilda, to stitch the flags on her dependable Singer sewing machine. As the bunting was spun and piled up on the other side of the machine, a younger child was at hand to roll and keep it in sections, thus ensuring that it did not become tangled up.

The best bunting and other decorations were kept for the entrance and steps of the East End Methodist Chapel (where the Festival queen was crowned) and the Greenland field (where the fete and demonstrations were held). The Union Jack, hoisted on the flagpoles of several houses, could also be seen fluttering in the wind and adding more colour to the occasion.

The village’s parade

The parade of troupes and floats — Indians, flowers, sea creatures, folk tales, decorated donkeys, horses, individuals and so on — was led by the queen and fungi musicians as they jigged their way from Chapel Hill down to Greenland field, with commands and directions coming through a “loudspeaker.” Plait-pole dancing was the most popular and spectacular demonstration, until the moko jumbies (now sometimes called sky dancers) came on the scene many years later. The late Charles Penn was a famous decorated horse rider, and both horse and rider added much spirit to the parade! Prizes were small, but participants were recognised and felt satisfied.

Today the activities of the East End/Long Look Festival Committee have expanded: It has come a long way. It is heartening to see that the legacy of persons who were involved in those beginning years continues to keep our cultural traditions alive in one way or another.

It is more gratifying to note that the call made by this writer in the Aug. 27, 2002 Penny Saver was answered this year: I urged EE/LL “to give up its custom of having a separate queen in the interest of the overall improvement and development of the national Festival.” Being more integrated in the main Virgin Islands August celebrations has certainly improved this cultural product and is good for everyone, creators and consumers alike!

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