The Anguilla Literary Foundation is pleased to announce the hosting of the 2018 Anguilla Lit Fest: A Literary Jollification, which will take place from May 14 to 19, 2018, under the theme A Community Outreach.
In speaking to the structure of the 2018 edition of the annual literary event, President of the ALF, Mrs Sherille Hughes, noted that “After careful consideration of the requirements for even a scaled-down version of the customary Anguilla Lit Fest, specifically as regards our host venue, our sponsor hotel and our main sponsors, we have concluded that there is no way we can logistically accommodate a standard 3 day Lit Fest event at this time. Given that Lit Fest is a Jollification event, we cannot overlook the challenges being faced financially, and materially by those who have partnered with us in the past. We are therefore seeking to carefully minimize the costs associated with the hosting of the event, by seeking reduced sponsorship allocations and in kind donations to enable us to present a meaningful but cost-effective program with the help of those committed to the preservation of the Literary Arts in Anguilla.
Mr Cardigan Connor, Parliamentary Secretary with responsibility for Tourism, Sports, Youth and Culture, noted that, given the challenges being experienced by the travel and tourism and business sectors post Hurricane-Irma, the ALF’s decision to shift focus more on its social outreach mandate to the local community, and on a regional rather than an international community by presenting this modified version of the Literary Jollification, in spite of the challenges brought on by Hurricane Irma, is indeed commendable. “As the organization charged with the preservation and conservation of the Literary Arts in Anguilla, it is imperative that the Anguilla Literary Foundation (ALF) pursue its social outreach mandate to the local community which we expect will indeed have a positive impact on our children and young people, as well as our aspiring writers from the adult population, and our teachers, as we seek to continue to generate interest in reading, writing and the Literary Arts amongst the youth of the island. As Anguilla looks to the task of restoration post-Irma, I am pleased to see that the ALF is also minded to play its part in the preservation and conservation of our heritage and traditions through the literary arts, even as they continue to provide a platform for our local and regional authors and poets to further develop and hone their literary skills.”
Mrs. Hughes also took the opportunity to look ahead to the 2019 edition of the Anguilla Lit Fest: A Literary Jollification, as she shared that “the Organizing Committee is also persuaded that the stellar line up we had secured for 2018 will be better showcased in a signature Lit Fest 3-day event complete with all our customary trimmings, and with sufficient advertising and marketing lead-time to maximize the impact of our quality talent on our tourism arrivals. We have therefore elected to reserve this stellar line-up for the 2019 edition of Lit Fest: A Literary Jollification.”
Lit Fest 2018 will therefore be presented from May 14 to 19, as a Community Outreach Initiative, as we host a series of writer’s workshops for primary and secondary school children, at risk youth, adults and teachers, to be facilitated by two of our previous Lit Fest alumni.
A special evening of Motivation for both the girls and the guys, will be held on Wednesday night, May 16, entitled Doing the Dream: Grown Man Vision; Woke Woman Wisdom. This year our customary Children’s Champions’ Pursuit of Literacy Program for Primary students, will take the form of an ALF Pizza and a Story Nite on Thursday evening, May 17, at Paradise Cove from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.
On Saturday May 19th, we will present a one-day Lit Fest event at Paradise Cove Resort, our host venue, complete with the Rise and Shine breakfast session, entitled “After the Storm”, a full morning panel session featuring Pride of Anguilla: Presentation of New Publications, a Publishing Panel, entitled, “Making Prose and Poetry Pay”, and a Maverick Luncheon presentation.
Special vacation packages for the event will be offered by a number of Anguilla’s leading properties, including the host hotel, Paradise Cove Resort, and sponsor hotel, CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa.
For more information on the Anguilla Lit Fest: A Literary Jollification or to register for this year’s event, go to www.anguillalitfest.com or www.paradisecoveanguilla.com. You may also engage with the Lit Fest community on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/anguillalitfest) and Twitter.
For more information on Anguilla please visit the official website of the Anguilla Tourist Board: www.IvisitAnguilla.com; follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/AnguillaOfficial; Instagram: @Anguilla_Tourism; Twitter: @Anguilla_Trsm, Hashtag: #MyAnguilla .
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
