VG READY: Nearly 40 troupes registered for parade

Chairperson of the Virgin Gorda Easter Festival Committee Sasha Flax said she expects the Easter Monday parade this year to be one of the largest ever, adding that close to 40 troupes were registered to participate up to a few weeks ago.

When the event was held last year, there were a total of 15 troupes.

“The last update I got, it was close to 40 entries and we were still having people call to ask if it was too late to sign up. So, things are looking quite well,” she told BVI News Online while noting that about five of the troupes are from St Thomas in the neighbouring US Virgin Islands.

Flax added, “The whole of Virgin Gorda is getting ready for festival and we are already in festival mode. Things are going quite well. We also definitely have been trying our best to be as cost-effective as possible for the festival while trying to make it as grand as possible.”

Minister responsible fro culture Myron Walwyn, in the meantime, is pleased with the level of participation expected in the parade this year.

“I think it is going to be good, and we have a very good level of participation in the parade – much higher than we’ve had in the years passed. So, I think we are going to have a very very good parade that the people of Virgin Gorda and indeed the people of the Virgin Islands will be very proud of,” Walwyn further told BVI News Online.

The parade, which is scheduled to start at noon on Monday (April 17), will run along the Lee Road in Virgin Gorda.

There was doubt as to whether that roadway would have been used because it is being rehabilitated.

But, in a Facebook post yesterday, Minister of Communication and Works Mark Vanterpool said measures have been put in place to facilitate the parade.

“I am pleased that my team was able to get the Lee Road ready for the Easter festival,” Vanterpool said.