PHOTOS: Good fun and laughter at eventful Carrot Bay Cultural Day

By Fitsroy Randall, BVI News Staff

As the sun stood at its highest peak in the sky, the Carrot Bay Cultural Day activities were well underway beneath the its glare on Friday, August 5.

The day was packed with activities for both the young and the young at heart. At around 12:30 pm, the tents were already set up and the vendors commenced business with the small crowd that was present. 

At approximately 2 pm, more people began trickling in and the activities were now in full swing. The first activity of the day was the children’s mango-eating contest. It was a fairly even field with two boys and two girls and girl-power shone through as contestant number three was the first person to finish her three mangoes in under two minutes. 

Contestant number two – a boy – finished second as he was halfway through his third mango when the timer sounded. 

For their efforts, first place was awarded $60 and second place received $20. In the adult equivalent, it was three women against one man to see who could eat five mangoes in under two minutes. It was the man who emerged victorious in the end. 

Shortly after that, they had a lime and spoon race for both the children and adults. It was stiff competition for all positions as the participants showed great speed and concentration to win their respective races. The top three contestants from each category each received a medal – gold, silver, and bronze, respectively. 

Attention quickly swung to the road as five donkeys were brought in to compete in races. However, there were only two riders present and the centrepiece event became a donkey racing showcase. One brave patron got on the donkey and rode through the streets. 

The races took a break and the patrons returned to the ground where the children engaged in bucket races. 

Some members of the House of Assembly – mainly the Junior Minister for Economic Development, Shereen Flax-Charles — were present from early in the day while at around five in the evening, Minster for Health and Social Development Marlon Penn and Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley made an appearance. Territorial At-Large Representative Carvin Malone was also present for the day’s activities.

Despite rumours that the swimming race would not take place, the rumours were quickly cleared up as the announcer urged interested participants to sign up. It was announced that Penn would sponsor the race and award a cash prize of $200 to the winner. A man from Carrot Bay named Zach stormed away from the four other competitors in the event. 

The tug-of-war competition was an intense one with the married men facing off against the single men. Governor John Rankin offered his strength to the single men’s team but that was not enough as the married men won the best of three competitions – winning two straight. Meanwhile, the women’s competition saw the married women winning. 

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley said he was happy about the support that the Carrot Bay community received for their culture day. 

“Carrot Bay has a reputation for being really strong in the area of culture. They preserve their traditions and the whole of BVI has come to support and I like that because, of course, we have a lot of activities in different parts of the islands. Of course, in the east, we have the Rise and Shine Tram which everybody came out and supported,” Dr Wheatley said.  

Below are scenes from the event: