CARIFESTA, the Region’s premiere cultural festival, which was scheduled to be held in Antigua and Barbuda in August next year, has been postponed to August 2022.
Daryll Matthew, Minister of Sports, Culture, National Festivals, and the Arts of Antigua and Barbuda, announced the decision on Thursday, at a virtual meeting of the Regional Cultural Committee.
The Committee comprises Directors of Culture from the twenty Member States and Associate Members of CARICOM and Members of the Interim Festival Directorate for CARIFESTA.
Matthew said, “I have been having discussions with our international partners, our cultural stakeholders, our Management team and the Chairman of the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda, Prime Minister Gaston Browne, as they relate to the CARIFESTA XV and the potential challenges to hosting the event.
“The recommendation coming out of these discussions was as heart-breaking as it was unanimous. So today, while reaffirming the commitment of the Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda to hosting CARIFESTA XV, I must advise you all that we have formally written to Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on our decision to postpone CARIFESTA XV for a period of one year.”
He said, however, that preparations had already commenced in earnest with the establishment of the CARIFESTA Secretariat and a Host Country Management Committee that had been carrying out their mandate with “enthusiasm, zeal and purpose.
CARIFESTA XIV was held in Trinidad and Tobago between August 16 to the 25, under the theme, Connect, Share, Invest.
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