Festival honouree dedicates award to son lost to gun violence
From left: Works Minister Kye Rymer, Junior Minister for Culture Luce Hodge Smith, the 2026 Festival Honouree Lavida Cottoy, and Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley during the official opening of the Lavida Cottoy Festiville on Monday, July 28. (Photos by Jerome Morton)
Long-serving cultural advocate Lavida Cottoy dedicated one of the BVI’s highest Festival honours to her late son during an emotional address at the official opening of the 72nd Virgin Islands Emancipation Festival Village on Monday night.
Cottoy, whose name now adorns the 2026 Festival Village in recognition of nearly four decades of service to the territory’s premier cultural celebration, used her acceptance speech to honour family members and friends before appealing for a peaceful Festival season.
“I dedicate this honor to my deceased son, Devon, a.k.a. Shabby, who lost his life to gun violence. He never missed a BVI Festival since living abroad,” Cottoy stated. She also dedicated the honour to “my deceased friends, Mrs Maureen Glasgow and Mr Owen Simmons, my liming partners, and to my other children, Desiree and Darrell, and my extended family and friends.”
Cottoy made a direct appeal to Festival patrons as she closed, saying, “Let us have a safe festival, drink responsibly, and please, please, I beg, leave the weapons at home. Happy festival from me to you.”
The tribute came after organisers formally recognised Cottoy’s longstanding contribution to the Virgin Islands Emancipation Festival. During the ceremony, organisers recounted her 37 years of service on the Virgin Islands Festival Committee, from 1985 to 2022, highlighting her leadership of the Food Fair Committee, the Prince and Princess Show and nearly two decades as chair of the Calypso Committee.
Reflecting on the recognition, Cottoy expressed surprise at the honour.
“When I first joined the Virgin Islands Festival Committee in 1985, I never thought it would lead to this,” she stated. “I served on the Virgin Islands Festival Committee for about 37 years — 1985 to 2022. That is not a committee term. That was a marriage to festival.”
She also used the occasion to call for the revival of traditional cultural activities, including Cultural Night and the former peas and rice competition, while paying tribute to many of the pioneers who helped shape the Festival over the years.
“This festival bearing my name isn’t about me. It’s about every queen who walked the stage. Every cook who fed the people. Every Calypsonian who sang the truth. And every committee member who showed up,” Cottoy said.
The Virgin Islands Festival and Fairs Committee announced Cottoy as the 2026 Festival Village Honouree in May, recognising her decades of work preserving and promoting Virgin Islands culture. The 72nd Virgin Islands Emancipation Festival is being celebrated under the theme, ‘Culture Rising, Hearts Aligned, VI Festival One of a Kind’.
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Whenever persons in the community or Honourees at any social gathering start begging patrons to leave their weapons at home..then alot is left to be answered concerning public safety. Plus Wheathley going mad about this Constitutional Review when $2.5 million vanished so that’s $7.5 million disappeared without a trace.Hmmmmm!
Food for thought; I just want to share my thoughts on the many blood sacrifices we have yearly and these ceremonies in commemoration of them which keeps the dark shadow of death over this country. The men and women that die and for those who meet in dark buildings behind RTW and other secret gatherings to present the blood of those who they put forward so that these generations of Family names be held in high authority. Just look at the names of those in office and that will tell you who paved the way for them to be where they are today. Don’t take what im saying for granted and no conspiracy theory but reality and facts that is blatantly in your faces that you turn a blind eye to every day as normal. IT IS NOT.
It’s done around the world and BVI is no exception. I remember a current politician once told me that not everyone can be rich in the BVI. It must have a control balance and he couldn’t explain why if BVI is the home of the mega rich from Russia to America to the land down under Australia. Trillions of dollars passes through this place but the country have nothing to show for it other than its natural beauty and these sacrificial guards in authority hounding us for a vote just to keep them in power to guard the banks of the wealthy.
I just hope that the many of you will pause for a minute to meditate and open your third eye and just ask this question of “WHAT IF?”
You will come to your senses that not all that glitter is gold and do what is right with the only thing you got which is that “VOTE” and give it to those that are in the less fortunate and not to those who been there for so many years and did NOTHING for this country to prosper but just to keep their position as a national sacrificial guard.
This time you have a chance to change the guard if you want to see change for the better. Vote them with family names and ties OUT.
CHANGE THE GUARD!
Please go and touch grass and put down the kool aid. It’s a small place of course family members will push each other up, just like everywhere else. It’s called CLASSISM nothing more nothing further. Stop getting your minds twisted with all kinds of fairytales
DEm girls is twins or CHildren of the Corn?
Yes, they are!!!
Wow, what a deep statement. I always used to say why certain people with family ties and [BVI] name in the BVI are the only ones with title positions? You really have me thinking with this one. I know bout the masons and their sacrifices but never thought BVI would be detrimental to it. I do believe what you are saying about the sacrificial guards is definitely a true statement and only BVI people can break the chain on that.
The names in office right now starting from th top…
There’s also the oddfellows and only heaven knows what other names they carry ] @ sacrificial ceremony changing the guards those who comes will only take up where those before them left off . only GOD can rid the world of these secret societies who has sold their souls to the devil . They believe they are bigger than GOD •
WAS GUNNED DOWN SOME YEARS AGO ( WHAT WAS HELD IN HER MEMORY ) ? / WHAT A SET OF HYPOCRITES WE ARE PLAYING HOLY – WHEN THE ( POPULAR ) BUSINESS MAN FROM THE WEST WAS GIVEN STREET JUSTICE EVEN THE WANNABE BISHUP HOLLERED HIS SADNESS TO HIS FAMILY / THAT 11 YEARS CHILD HAD PARENTS TOO , BUT HIS AND THESE PRETENDERS MOUTHS WERE LOCKED DOWN . (•¿•) HOW CAN WE RESPECT THESE SET OF ANIMALISTIC PEOPLE WHO HAS NO REAL LOVE IN THEIR HEARTS FOR OTHER HUMAN BEINGS , EXCEPT THEIR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS WITH THE SAME MENTALITY AS THEM .