Director of Culture Khan Cordice says Antigua and Barbuda is better prepared to host the Caribbean Festival of Arts in 2029 than it was when the country was initially selected to stage the regional event in 2021.
“Antigua is actually well positioned now,” Cordice told ABS News. “We are better positioned now than we were back in preparation for 2021.”
Antigua and Barbuda was scheduled to host the 15th edition of CARIFESTA in 2021, but the event was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The country’s offer to host the cultural showpiece in 2029 was accepted during the 51st Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in Saint Lucia.
Cordice said Antigua and Barbuda has consistently represented itself well at regional cultural events. A 105-member national delegation attended CARIFESTA in Barbados last year, the first staging of the festival since 2019.
He said local songs celebrating national pride demonstrate the importance Antiguans and Barbudans place on presenting the country’s culture to the world.
“When we go into different spaces, we represent and show the world the best of what we have,” Cordice said.
The soon-to-be-completed National Performing Arts Theatre is also expected to allow Antigua and Barbuda to showcase a wider range of performances when it hosts the festival.
Cordice said further training and capacity-building will be required to ensure cultural practitioners and technical personnel can make full use of the facility.
“People would need to be trained, not just in running the theatre, but in how to apply themselves in the theatre if they are going to be using the space,” he said.
Guyana will host CARIFESTA XVI in 2027 before Antigua and Barbuda takes over as host in 2029.
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