‘Festival suffers from underfunding’ — Festival Committee
The Virgin Islands Festivals and Fairs Committee (VIFFC) said they have been operating on a budget of under one million dollars to stage the various cultural events and festivities across the territory this year.
Speaking at a press conference earlier today, the Vice-Chairman of the committee Birch Lettsome noted the committee received a $500,000 subvention from the government.
He said the VIFFC have raised some sponsorship but the money falls very short of the budget required for a typical festival celebration.
“It is very difficult for me to speak about this year without giving you a backdrop. The reality of it is I think festivals in the BVI, especially as we know it; a minimum of $1.5 to $2 million is required to pull off the events as we all know them. The pageants, the village, coney island. Everything you could possibly think of, $1.5 to $2 million would be the ideal budget. We were able to raise some sponsorship and that kind of stuff. So, we will be looking in an area of just under one million,” Lettsome said.
Chairman of the VIFFC, Dirk Walters, added the subvention is a budget that must be used for all celebrations.
“We are not talking only about Road Town Festival. We are talking East End, Carrot Bay, and Virgin Gorda Easter Festival as well and including Gospel Fest which the Heritage committee manages, including heritage month. It’s not just gospel fest. I think a lot of persons don’t have a full understanding but there is a whole slate of events which is in August,” Walters said.
Meanwhile, Head of the Entertainment Committee Stuart Donovan said the key takeaway from the situation is that festival celebrations are being underfunded.
“The key point here is that all these activities for festival are governed under the same subvention. So, we need to look at what it is, and I will go on record challenging the government because there is a lot of talk about festival overrun but the festival does not suffer from overrun. Festival suffers from underfunding,” Donovan said.
Additionally, Walters noted that plans for this year’s emancipation festivities have been in the works for a long time and he is excited about what has been planned, despite receiving the green light later than expected.
“We have been looking forward to this for a long time. For many months we have been planning, and waiting on the go-ahead. Right now, it is just the execution; making sure all the sub-committee get the support they want. All the volunteers, bear in mind everyone involved in this are all volunteers, including those of us on the executive committee, and those on the subcommittee, it is a lot of work. It is a lot of physical work. Everyone is on high gear, and we are going to try and deliver the best festival in years, regardless of the constraints,” the chairman said.
When asked about outstanding debts to vendors, Walters noted he is not aware of any but if there are any debts, they must be brought to his attention.
“I am personally not aware of any vendors that are owed. I am only involved in this, myself and the vice-chair and treasurer since our first task was the Virgin Gorda Easter Festival. As far as I know, we have paid off our bills and all the debts are paid. If there is anything outstanding, that has to be brought to our attention, but any vendors owed previously, I can’t speak to because I know I didn’t sign anything with anyone or any contract so I can only speak to what I know about,” Walters said.
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There couldn’t possibly be better use of government funds.
Festival suffers from one thing above all. A total lack of class.
Festival Committee get too darn lazy they accustomed to raise funds but laziness taker over now .only cheap moneys they want now
… better to cancel festival, and fly anybody who want to go to a festival to another island. It would be cheaper and less embarrassing.
When I called in on FUZE and suggested that monies for festival be used to get our schools ready for september, a number of residents wanted my head on stick. They claimed festival brings money to the economy and yadda, yadda. Honestly, this might have been true years ago, but not now. Its takes a lot of money and time to get to the BVI. And depending on where you are coming from it can take as much as 2-3 days. And then when you finally get here, EVERYTHING is sky high. Do you know how many of the cruise ship passengers return to the ship for lunch?? The thing is the world is changing and we continue to spend money and peddle the same crap. There is nothing that makes us stand out. When you look at the world map we are not there, and if we are, we are dots. Every person that visits us is an ambassador for our shores. It doesnt matter the color of their skin. Evey white person is NOT rich with money to invest here. Every black person is NOT poor with no money to invest here. Focus on giving a quality experince. Festival is a no no until we get this place cleaned up. No more sewage in the streets. No more old cars and garbage along the roadside. No more run down buildings and fences. No more corrupt government officials, etc.
The amount of money the one from carrot Bay get from the festival in the area, he can afford to pay back, put back in Carrot Bay festival! No more Drew to dish out unaccounted $$$$
Don’t need Festival.moreso
because it is no longer recognizable as representative of the cultural aspect of the VI
Ditch it!
It is a slap in the face and the biggest reminder to VIslanders of how much we have lost and how degraded the VI has become.
or take $2,000,000 give it to every single Belonger on the electoral role – that’s about $130 each. Let them all spend the money as choose to.
There’s prob only about 10-12000 Belongers in the Territory. About 1/3 are too young to be on the electroral role. That leaves 6-8000 registered voters. So, if you split $ 2 million between them, it works out to to $ 250-330 each.
Jane’s estimated $ 130 each assumes an electoral roll of about 15,000, meaning there’s about 20,000 belongers. BVI population is about 35,000, of which about 60% are expats.
@Math I gathered the voting figures from Wiki
This is absolutely not new. Every single committee has said the exact same thing going back to even before MB was the chairman. but when we said it you all didnt listen or sympathize. Nowwww you all get to see how many of us former committee executives felt over the past 10 years or more.
Plenty of money if you don’t steal half in your nasty ways. How about using the money for schools so the kids don’t have to use their fingers to count when they leave high school. Despicable bunch!!
Is it that hard to organize a party?
the planning and schedule of this year’s Emancipation Festival was really impressive- until now. Who plans a 2 million dollar party with only 500K?
It’s like inviting 10 people to a full dinner, dessert and drinks at Brandywine Bay Restaurant with $200 in your pocket, hoping one of your guests will step up and pay the other $600.
Ambition is one thing, but this is just a bowl of stone soup.
The time to discuss a 66-75 percent shortfall is not days before the village opens.
My God did you read?? Where did they say they were planning a 2 mil festival with $500k? As far as I understand a $500k plus sponsorship festival is being planned. The people simply saying what it would take to pull off a festival like we know it to be. This obviously isn’t one but it will be fun! Miserable humans!
You need a women between those men to balance things . A woman can stretch that to a next half of that amount . Perhaps they have to pay their DJ and people of choice to get their cut back . None of dem can be trusted
So what happens to the revenue collected at the gate as admission fees for the various events. In my opinion this is supposed to be quite a large sum of money and should offset a large portion of the expenses associated with the events. How does Coney Island fit into our culture. Seems to me something realistic needs to be conceptualized and executed with accountability.
People hungry, can’t afford gas and we talking about more money for festival? Look no one knows how long this inflation is going to go on, or how bad it is going to get. What is wrong with this government, can’t they see the handwriting on the WALL. Stop Spending the people’s money. STOP. Huge inflation STORM coming and you guys are walking around with your eyes closed tight?? People here already hungry and living week to week because of all the trials we have had in the last 5 years. Come on, wake up and stop wasting $$. Make a plan to feed the hungry, yeah, put a few million away for that. Never mind festival. You want festival, be conservative, and quit moaning about wanting more money, can’t yo see there is not enough money to go around????
First they need to know and understand what they are celebrating Festival rather Carnival. Until they figure out the difference they are going to continue to pay for a carnival and not a festival. Why you all name the village after “Yampe” the most least deserving honor in the history of the bvi.
Birch face says it all “WHAT THE F**K DID I GET MYSELF INTO?!” LMAO!!!!!!
Every year is the same thing. it never have funds.
so it will forever be like this.
There are so many schools in an despicable state… how about use that money to rebuild (Althea Scatliffe primary) for example; the ppl of the vi going find some party to go to every weekend ANYWAY.. stop stretching you hand where you know it can’t reach. recipe for disaster!
So tired of the same old crap over and over for donkey’s years. When are our people going to wake up and stop with the same old same old! Kick out the old abusers and start new, if not for yourself… for your children, for the sake of your ancestors. Toxic air to breathe WE/Open burning, POOR roads, POOR water supply, sewer running in the streets and dumped in the ocean, Poor schools, irreparable condition for 4 years now, very low minimum wages, NHI and SS stolen for workers, NHI blatant rip off, a loaf of bread $7.00, gasoline $6.00 a gallon, keep adding taxes and fees, corrupt government but all you want to do is fight down each other. However, we continue to harbor our criminals, keep quiet cause it is somebody you knows brother or family, still feel entitled and want a hand out rather than get off your a** and do a days work.
What this got to do with festival?
Festival was a lot less expensive in 2020 and 2021. If money is the problem then just organize a virtual festival for 2022.
Showcase the local talent, cut out most of those overseas expensive and over-priced artistes. Stop treating the August Festival like it is a Music Fest and focus on the local culture.
I went to St. Thomas Carnival. I had a wonderful time, went to the village 3 nights no entrance fee. Wtf Tola can’t put on a Fdztival with an en entertainment line up that encourages visitors to come? We used to put on a Festival when I was growing up with little or nothing. The difference today is people are selfish and self centered. They only have their hands out but don’t want to contribute even if they can. With this attututude we will always end up behind the 8th ball.
Do you know how much money the USVI Carnival gets??? Can’t compare that to BVI.
Government shouldn’t be in the entertainment business. You can have drunken parades on your own dime. Disgraceful.
Let’s leave festival in the history books, can’t someone come up with something more up to date and relevant to todays BVI. I never go, crap food and a bunch of ugly a**e fat women that should really stay home.
Priorities. Can’t believe this. People are more concerned about partying than fixing roads,water mains.and sewage in the streets. Governor please stop this nonsense.
I guess we can’t chew and walk at the same time. Culture is just as important as other priorities. Celebrating our Emancipation and the sacrifices our indegenous forefathers made are just as important.
There will always be budget issues because: (1) We are a territory so divided it needs 4 festivals rather than one (2) BVI is expensive to travel to (3) the cost of doing business in the BVI is extremely high (4) there aren’t enough businesses in the BVI to help offset the costs – major brands that do invest can’t afford to do what they are likely to do in a larger market.
The BVI is the only place in the Caribbean where it is. Ore expensive to fly off island than to fly in during festival. Why: because festival is really really poor, and is even more poor when compared to what other islands do.
So why can’t we have more than 1 aspects to our 1 Festival? Why do we have to be like everywhere else? Why can’t we market 3 festival elements Asa part of our overall Emancipation Festival? Why can’t that be the unique selling point that draws tourists to the BVI? Small minded people dread!
@ guess. You said it ALL
Fundraise. Long ago the the festival committee held fundraisers and I never once heard any complaints about not having enough funds and the events were well supported by the people. Plan according to your budget.
Money isn’t the be all and end all of Festival! There are plenty of ways to celebrate that don’t cost a lot of money.
Instead of bands, do a karaoke competition. I think it would be good for a laugh, people would have fun … and who knows, you may even find a few hidden talents.
Do games with the kids instead of Coney Island. We did it for the KATS programme one year as a fund raiser and the kids (and parents) LOVED it. An iron man competition capped it all off. Have little prizes for them. Nothing expensive, just something to acknowledge their wins.
Your ancestors didn’t have a few million dollars to spend either. They managed to have a good time. I never understood why there had to be so many venues all over the islands. Pick three main venues and stick to just those.
After the hurricanes,the pandemic, and the recent political upheaval, I don’t think it is asking too much for people to set their sights a little lower. Make the best out of what you have! A million dollars is a LOT of money. Spend it wisely.
Festival had no call being so long and drawn out. I thought the new organizers would have been much smarter. You can’t afford it cut it shorter.
It would be enough funds for one good festival in town. BVI … is Still divided in our emancipation celebrations after all these years. Inflation should be an eye opener to those “ who want their own festival”. No where else else. has 3 festivals in one territory !! It’s ridiculous !!!! What happened to “ one love “!! Hmm ??? It’s a disgrace to complain about a budget shortage for entertainment in these hard times !! Shame on those who are splitting hairs and therefore. splitting the dollars. We Still haven’t learned after all we’ve been through ???! Do we need a festival COI to straighten this out too??!
So my tax money contributing to festival and I still have to pay to get in the village. BS if u ask me
Sound so stupid! Your tax money pays for a lot of things that you still have to pay for. This isn’t Socialism.
If this new government had collected all the fake fishers and pretend farmer’s money back from those crooks there would be plenty of money to go around for this event.
The government never thought there would always be consequences to their careless actions.
Look what festival come to know a days dependent on government funds, all i’m seeing we just have an bunch of lazy people in the festival committee, people we need to go back to the old days when festival committee used to keep fish fried to raise money, car wash, cake sale, car raffle and beach jam, go out and make your own money and you can bring whatever artist u want go back to the old days come on guys find many ways to raise the money and stop dependent on government.
OUR FESTIVAL WAS A CULTURAL EVENT TO BE CELEBRATED WITH RESPECT ? MAYBE MISS P AND MR LEONARD CAN SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS ONCE HISTORIC CELEBRATION WHICH HAS TURNED
INTO A CARNIVAL BACANAL ( FACTS ONLY PLEASE ) OR THEY JUST SPECIALIZED IN USING RACISM HISTORY AS AN EXCUSE TO GET ATTENTION ? ( AND AS I SAID BEFORE WHAT THESE KNOW IT ALL KNOW THAT MR STOUTT DIDN’T ( BECAUSE HE DIDN’T SIND THAT SONG THAT THEY ARE NOW SINGING DAY AND NIGHT LIKE THEY JUST DISCOVERED ? IT
Are you shouting? Just chill.
“Our”and “We” has morphed into an unrecognizable putrid puddle of the Caribbean’s rejected and displaced.
“We” many of we,, escape the denigrating imposed by the spectacle by going on vacation off Island.”We” no longer make August a homecoming and family reunion.
Why can’t we have one venue in Road Town? That would make more sense in these hard times. Isnt anyone thinking? You can’t try the same old things and expect a different result! Come on committee, less money then less venues. Focus on the main venue and you will have a better support. It ain’t rocket science you know.
Let’s just do local this year and pay the locals a proper compensation…don’t waste money on local or regional acts please and thanks.
No improved roads, schools, sewerage and miminum slave wage, no carnival, period!!!!!!
NO RIDES?
Does every little village need a separate event? This place too small. Just have festival village and the road town parade. We too spoil. Times are hard everywhere. We have to learn to do more with less. We have more import things to do with the public purse.
These people always talking about island people, and this and that and they are the brokest island in the whole archipelago, they are so pathetic, some lil rides for the kids and it looks like they can’t even afford it, this place does charge for everything and they never have a cent to do anything,they does charge departure tax and a bunch of other stuff no other country does charge, but yet still them always on their faces, can’t even build the schools, and the ones that are operating disintegrating on top the students,what a place of disgrace
WELL IF TELLING IT LIKE IT IS, IS CALLED SHOUTING THEN AM HOLLERING , AND AM COOL CALM AND COLLECTIVE ( OR LIKE YOU AM CHILLING , AND IF MY COMMENT TOUCHED YOU , NO OFFENSE , RIP
1. We need one central festival. With the exception of VG
2. The artist extort us because they get US dollars.
3. Bring Oyan he always works with us.
4. Destra should be giving a free performance by now the amount of $$$ she already make here.
5. Bunji Garlin and Fayann is a package they might even bring super blue.
6. You wait late you get the left over artist.
6. We need a better promoter handling our entertainment. STEWART WASHED UP!!
7. LET JUS HAVE FUN WITH WHAT WE HAVE AND STOP BITCHING. I FOR SURE GOING ENJOY MYSELF.