Larina Loretta Jacobs-Lamothe has operated a booth at the August Emancipation Festival nearly every year for more than four decades. Asked this year about her favourite memory from that time, Ms. Jacobs-Lamothe didn’t hesitate.“It’s right now,” she told the Beacon as a band warmed up for International Soca Night on Aug. 3, adding, “This is one of my busiest seasons right here.”
The Jost Van Dyke native, who goes by “Rena,” was the Festival Village honouree for this year’s 70th anniversary celebration, and she said business was booming.
She wasn’t the only one. From nightly concerts to crowded Rise and Shine Tramps to an extended August Monday Parade, residents and officials alike deemed this year’s festivities a success.
“Some nights we saw approximately 3,500 to 4,000 people in the village, maybe more,” BVI Tourist Board Director Clive McCoy told the Beacon. “But all this would be forthcoming with the reports at the end of Festival from all of the various committees.”
Though the planning process got off to a late start this year, Mr. McCoy said he expects the event to come “very close” to breaking even financially. This was also the first year the BVITB took over the event from the Virgin Islands Festivals and Fairs Committee.
“We’ve been having a good time with it and trying to make the best of everything that we were tasked to do,” Mr. McCoy said. “We’ve seen some hiccups here and there. Nothing is ever perfect, but it’s a learning experience. And we anticipate that next year a lot of the kinks that we weren’t able to avoid this year, we will be able to iron them out for 2025.”
More people, more places
Though Mr. McCoy said official numbers have yet to be aggregated, attendance was strong at festival events.
“I don’t have the exact numbers, but when I speak to some folks at the airport and persons at the seaport, they have told me that they have noticed the planes and the ferries are coming in full with persons,” Mr. McCoy said. “More than likely, when the numbers come out, we’ll see an increase in visitors in August in comparison to last year.”
The tourism director attributed the higher number of visitors to marketing by the BVITB.
“We put our marketing efforts out a little bit more internationally,” he said.
Booth Sides
Around the festival grounds this week, booth workers like Adrian Fahie affirmed it was one of the busiest years in recent memory.
“All night, all day,” Mr. Fahie said yesterday of the bustling business at Matcha’s Bar and Grill in booth number five at the festival village. “I’m not sure if it’s just the influx of people or lack of hands on deck, but it’s a lot busier.”
Besides the larger-than-usual night crowds made up of thousands of people, Mr. Fahie said each day at the festival village also saw a busy lunchtime. This week, Tuesday saw the biggest crowds so far, but Mr. Fahie is expecting another pop of audience numbers during the last lap concert on Saturday.
Another festivalgoer hanging around near booth number 13 said his highlight was the same as every previous year.
“East End j’ouvert,” he said of the village’s annual Rise and Shine Tramp. “As usual. Always the best. Can’t go wrong with that.”
Reggae ready
Two of the main musical events were held over the weekend at the village.
International Reggae Night started Friday and stretched into the early hours of Saturday morning featuring Final Faze, CP4, Shine-I, I’Ritical, Shenseea, Romain Virgo and Ova Drive.
At around 4 a.m., moko jumbies took the stage while the crowd thinned and younger attendees made their way to the stage for a more intimate musical experience.
Locked away
The next evening, the crowd was even bigger for International Soca Night, featuring Adam O with Blind Earz, Busy Signal, R. City and Vibe, along with DJ Dre hosted by Hashim the Dream.
Lekeisha Allen, 20, rated the night a 10 of 10, mostly because of Adam O.
Intermittent rain showers did little to quell the crowd’s excitement while St. Thomas duo R. City owned the stage after Adam O set the night alight.
As rain began to fall 10 minutes before 2 a.m. Sunday, people further away from the stage ran for cover under the ring of food and drink stalls encircling the village.
But the rain didn’t last long, and people were soon back out in front of the stage in similar numbers, coaxed by Adam O.
“Adam O lit up the stage,” Jake Forbes, 20, said. “Even in the rain, people still stood front stage to support him, sing and dance, and it was just an amazing night, really.”
Ms. Allen was similarly impressed by the night’s performances.
“You could just tell that everybody was just happy to, like, celebrate together,” Ms. Allen said. “I really enjoyed it. I think my favourite part of the night as well was when Adam O, he got to the front and he was hugging everybody. It just showed his appreciation for all his supporters, and that just really made my night.”
For many, the highlight of the early morning hours of Sunday took place after R. City had been on stage for a few songs. That’s when Theron “Uptown AP” Thomas launched into one of the duo’s most famous hits: “Locked Away,” a pop song originally recorded with Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine.
Though Mr. Levine was absent from the live rendition, attendees made up for the lead singer’s falsetto when R. City pointed their microphones at the crowd, encouraging them to finish the chorus.
“If I showed you my flaws, if I couldn’t be strong, tell me honestly,” the brothers sang, leaving the crowd to finish the chorus: “Would you still love me the same?”
Security
Throughout the nights at the village, security guards were on alert. Among them was Steve George, who seemed unbothered by the late hours during International Soca Night as he almost bounced to the thumping bass.
Asked if he was enjoying himself, the former police officer credited an uneventful night for his relaxed demeanour
“Even though I’m working, yes, I’m enjoying myself,” Mr. George said. “As a law enforcement officer, I’m happy when I see people happy.”
Security personnel, he added, were stationed to ensure attendees got their money’s worth.
“Any crime — be it from petty theft, whatever — we’re trying to make sure it don’t happen,” Mr. George said. “Because I think persons spend money to come here, and our intention is at the end of it, they leave with good memories.”
Through the night
Asked about the first time she organised a booth, Ms. Jacobs-Lamothe said she was inspired by her fellow Virgin Islanders.
“I used to come in the village and look around, … and I say I can do this!” Ms. Jacobs-Lamothe said. “I went to the festival community, and I had a booth right away. So far I been enjoying myself and all my delicious food and my friends and family having a good time.”
Born in Jost van Dyke, Ms. Jacobs-Lamothe says she splits her time between her home island and Tortola.
“I live in Jost Van Dyke and Tortola because I have my business in Jost Van Dyke,” she said
Sunday service
Other Festival activities focused more explicitly on the history of emancipation in the territory. On Sunday, Aug. 4, residents marched to the Sunday Morning Well for the annual Emancipation Service. After a women’s quartet performed a hymn, Mrs. BVI 2022 and 2023 Dr. Arliene Penn sang the territorial song before Pastor Jovan Cline took the microphone.
“As we continue with this service, I am asking you to see and think of a way how you can get involved with the strength of our heritage and the longevity of these beautiful Virgin Islands,” Mr. Cline said during the opening remarks.
Later, Deputy Governor David Archer Jr. read from Britain’s Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which took effect on Aug. 1, 1834. Though the act technically freed a once-enslaved people in the VI, it also set up an apprenticeship system akin to slavery that persisted for years afterwards.
These troupes are made for walkin’
The August Monday Parade began so late that some of the larger troupes were left to finish the route in the dark.
But attendees were largely undeterred. A trio of women watching from the second floor of The Dove restaurant described the procession of troupes, moko jumbies and speaker systems on wheels as one of the most entertaining aspects of festival.
“It’s the life that [the parade] brings,” Suzie Gallienne said. “I don’t go to the village, but the parade I do enjoy — the moko jumbies in particular.”
Each of the trio had attended the festival for at least three decades. Between them, they calculated that they had celebrated a total of 108 festivals.
“For me, it’s a real family occasion,” Andrea Douglas said. “I love what it represents. I like the celebration and what it means. I think it’s just incredible.”
Both women said the festival was their 34th. Their companion, Sandra Thornton, said it was her 40th.
Mr. McCoy said parade’s delayed start time stemmed from multiple issues.
“The parade was supposed to start at 1 p.m., I was told, and it started at 2 p.m.,” Mr. McCoy said of the event, although many troupes started closer to 4 p.m. “Part of the challenge was that you have so many persons that are involved in the Rise and Shine Tramp trying to get the parade.”
Also adding to the time-crunch were a higher-than-average number of entries, he said.
“This year, I was told we had 54 entries, which is up from 27 last year,” Mr. McCoy said.
Weekday pop
After the parade, the events continued with unusually large crowds at the festival village on some nights.
Among the best attended shows this week was the Flag-O-Rama event on Tuesday, which featured Intrusive Band, Monéa, Dexta Daps, Patrice Roberts, Xtreme featuring Pascal and Harella, and DJ Millenium King.
Procurement process
Mr. McCoy also blamed some of the delays and other hiccups at this year’s activities on the BVITB’s new procurement process, which didn’t encumber the committee that previously organised the Festival before this year.
“The procurement process for the BVI Tourist Board mandates that all vendors that are chosen must be approached in writing, and you must approach at a minimum three vendors when possible,” Mr. McCoy told the Beacon. “Then a recommendation must be made based on the estimates and quotes that were brought to the Tourist Board.”
Such requirements, the director said, delayed the BVITB’s planning.
“This type of process was not in place” in the past, Mr. McCoy said. “Everything we had our hands in — from ticketing to the immigration and so forth, and all those different administrative functions — was a lot for us to do as a staff. But we were able to hang in there and make it happen.”
Looking ahead
Mr. McCoy said the BVITB is already considering changes that will make future events run more smoothly, including rescheduling the August Monday Parade.
“Usually, we have the parade right after the Rise and Shine Tramp in the morning,” Mr. McCoy said. “We found that makes it really difficult for us to execute the parade in a robust fashion.”
Participants in both activities, he said, often struggle to make it to the parade in time.
“There’s been discussion about moving the parade to a separate date,” Mr. McCoy said. “I don’t know which date it is yet, but it would be a date that is specifically for the parade, and that would allow for perhaps an earlier start.”
Sariah Lake, Freeman Rogers and Allison Vaughn contributed reporting.
This article was edited as of Aug. 15, 2024 to include further reporting.