Premier encourages greater support for East End festival
Premier and Seventh District Representative Dr Natalio Wheatley is calling for greater support for the annual East End/Long Look leg of the emancipation festivities held on Tuesday, August 6.
As the 70th Emancipation Festival nears its conclusion, the East End and Long Look communities celebrated with their own cultural fair. Traditionally held on a Wednesday, this year’s event took place on a Tuesday, inviting residents to come out as vendors or patrons to celebrate the community’s extensive history.
During the opening ceremony, Premier Dr Wheatley noted the low turnout at the event. Although the event mostly hosted the community’s diaspora, the Premier expressed gratitude for the few patrons who attended and encouraged more support for the wider BVI community.
He noted that previous events held at the festival village brought out large crowds due to big-name artistes performing. However, on a day that didn’t require artistes, he said barely anyone was present.
“When we started out, we didn’t require any artistes to pack a field. It was about our people, our culture, and our heritage,” Dr Wheatley said. “We would come to be among our people and to see all those we hadn’t seen in a long time.”
Wheatley reminisced about the times when the BVI was filled with history and culture and encouraged the community to bring it back. “We had an opportunity with this event today to have everything that made our celebrations what they used to be, celebrating our heroes and our leaders who brought us to where we are today,” he expressed.
The Premier additionally stated that what the BVI lacked was unity. “We need more culture, history, and heritage,” he stressed.
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Yuh advertise or promote anything like how you did town? You barely give EE $30k to do anything! But you gave Machel Montano $300,000.00! Your math is mathing perfectly! You didn’t invest in EE so the people had nothing to interested in or get excited about! Dummy
Machel was paid
He’s the soca king a f@@@nd legend
Not everyone can go to his shows
He came here drew a crowd and everyone was satisfied begging for more
They must bring legends here and popular ppl to perform u saw the crowd for Shensea ?
How do u expect money to be made ?
Plus it’s the 70th we the VI got a treat why complain ?
East Don’t need no festival village
We are all disappointed in him
Where were all those who the VIP give out belongership to?????????????????????????
But ayo still hating belongers ayo tek day
We not the spare cogs in the wherl
A set of self serving people.
How much culture, history, and heritage was in the musicfest you wasted our money on?
Wheatley reminisced about the times when the BVI was filled with history and culture and people were celebrating, heroes and our leaders who brought us to where we are today. Did he have the picture with him? Heroes are now Andrew Fahie and culture is now drug running, shooting and money laundering. Can see why the people are not out celebrating that just corrupt leaders.
Well you need to get back some of the floats from town like how it used to be before Irma. Get all the businesses in east to participate. District 7 and 8 could have had their own tropes the two schools could have had their children take part. More decorations would have been inviting. Included fat hogs bay in the parade route. Then you would have gotten more than a turn out
Exactly my first thought no promotion for EE\LL and Carrot Bay. A simple banner across the road in these communities would have done wonders. Poor planning it seems everything was all about the foreign artists highly paid to instruct our young people in the ways of Mystery Babylon.
they got double taxed so they had to work , does that answer your Question ❓️ – now go and play with your WIG
Please bring back carrot bay
If that is true about paying Machel $300,000 the people who supported this Music Fest that they try to pass off as Festival Village just as bad!!!!!!!!!!
East End / Long Look and VG should combine to have cultural troupes in the Road Town Parade to celebrates emancipation from slavery and not looking like you’re prostituting yourself in Parade either.
One entry should not dominate Parade day making it a wash out like this year’s Parade that was majority one pageant entry after the next with some boring cars in between and 2 troupes.
VG should not have a festival at the same time as Good Friday weekend. It’s a mockery! East End / Long Look and VG could still have cultural activities but if they look back at the last 40 plus years there have been a handful of entries in their Parades that is a waste of resources.
Government you can decide but every year you do the same thing!!
One other thing stop allowing people to dress half naked at these events including Festival Village with boobs, front and backside out!! If they can’t do it on a regular day do not alllow it period!!!!
We are not Brazil, Trinidad or elsewhere.
Government this is NOT EMANCIPATION FROM SLAVERY!!!!
Slaves were SEXUALLY EXPLOITED raped, abused, sold, AND THIS BEHAVIOUR IS A DISGRACE!!!!
Mr. Premier, we don’t lack unity, we lack proper roads to drive on, I bet you took a flight to the field cause it seems like you don’t drive on the same roads we drive on.
the worst road on Tola in your distrit, go fix it so we can come visit East and keep our cars in tact.
If people can barely pay rent and buy food where will they get money to do display for the cultural display.
You should have given money to the organizers of the event
No vision stupid phrase tonuse
I was there at the last one.
I didn’t even know this event was happening smh
You contributed to the separation of this territory. Go back to your speeches outside and inside the house of assembly.