The Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA), the region’s premier cultural showcase, opens in Barbados on Sunday, more than 24 hours after Tropical Storm Harvey put a damper on the activity as it made its way through the Eastern Caribbean.
Culture Minister Stephen Lashley said there have been minor changes to the program for the 13th edition of the CARIFESTA XIII, as a result of the passage of the storm.
Opening to be held at Kensington Oval
The minister said that following a meeting with the stakeholders on Friday night, it was agreed the opening ceremony which was originally scheduled for Thursday evening, will now take place on Sunday at the Kensington Oval.
“With the passage of the storm we have been able to regroup and discuss the next plan of action. The actual schedule has not been terribly disrupted, but we felt that we can plan and execute the opening ceremony with the least disruption as possible,” he told a news conference.
Lashely said the pre-show would now be held one hour before the official opening.
Delegates delayed
The storm had delayed the arrival of several delegations. However, Festival Director of CARIFESTA Andrea Wells said about 85 per cent of the delegates had already arrived. A number delegates whose flights were cancelled indicated they were able to reschedule their flights and would arrive in time for the opening.
“Some of Jamaica’s delegation are already on the ground, but they are coming in a staggered way. Some have been stuck in Jamaica and some are hoping to get on other flights. Some delegates from Suriname had to overnight in Trinidad because connecting flights were cancelled because of the weather system,” Wells said,
“People are still very enthusiastic about the festival, so they are not making anything stop their plans.”
Lashley said he was satisfied that there was a lot of interest in the festival, which will see more than 500 events taking place over the 10-day event. “We have issued quite a number of tickets. We expect Kensington Oval will be full capacity,” he added
 was postponed in Barbados from Thursday, August 17 to Sunday August 20, due to the approach of Tropical Storm Harvey){kind=link}