Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Discover Dominica Authority (DDA), Marva Williams, commended her team for a “great job” during the staging of the 26th Edition of the World Creole Music Festival (WCMF).
The three nights of pulsating rhythms took place from October 23-25 at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium and featured major artists such as American Singer and Songwriter Shaffer Chimere Smith, who goes by the stage name “Ne-Yo”, Trinidad Soca Artist Machel Montano, Capleton, Maxi Priest, Alkaline, Dominica Bouyon Artist Asa Bantan, Klass, and more.
“When we look at the whole operation of the World Creole Music Festival (WCMF), the team has done a great job in terms of maintaining the run sheet, in terms of ensuring that there is, you know, quicker transition in between acts,” she said. “We know that is one of the main points that would have been brought up by patrons, that sometimes it takes too long for a band to come on.”
According to her, the process has not been perfect, “but we’ve almost mastered the entrance experience”, Williams said.
Concerning the entrance experience, Williams stated that DDA has not received any complaints.
“Every year, the more you add value to the World Creole Music Festival as a festival, the more you’re going to see things that need fixing, that need adjusting,” Williams stated.
She continued, “But as usual, we go back to the drawing board, we look at what worked well, what didn’t work well, and always look to improve on the product experience annually.”
She added, “ Every time I speak locally, originally, internationally, I say that Dominica should be very proud to have a festival that is in its 26th edition, and had it not been for natural disasters and other things like the pandemic, we would have been celebrating 30 years of the World Creole Music Festival.”
Williams mentioned further that Dominica should be proud of that, “because festivals of that nature, they have a lifespan, and we’ve seen all the Caribbean islands struggle with their festivals, they’ve changed their name, they have to go back, revamp the look…but we have a festival that is differentiated from other festivals in the Caribbean, and that is the Creole aspect that we heavily maintain.”
Meanwhile, in response to several comments by some members of the public that the festival is moving away from the Creole, Williams said “That is not true.”
“As you grow, you have to add other elements that’s going to expand the whole look and feel, the benefit, and the festival is something that brings visibility to Dominica, so why not use it as the tool to continue to build on the awareness and build on the relevance of the destination?” she emphasized.
She described this year’s festival as a bit of a challenge.
“I can tell you it was a different year, very, very different in terms of feeling, and we knew last year going big for the 25th edition…You know, we would have had somewhat different optics in terms of various aspects. We knew that,” Williams explained. “But this festival, the whole feeling, everything was different, not because the government or the Ministry of Tourism or DFC did not put their best foot forward and do what is normally done. It’s because we’re in a time now where there are external factors affecting everything that is happening, not only in Dominica; it’s affecting everything worldwide.”
For example, she said in terms of travel, people are not able to move around as usual.
“Some people have a fear of travel,” Williams remarked. “When you look at the price of diesel and the price of gas, you know, that is affecting the price of the tickets on the airline.”
