One of Anguilla’s national holidays, marking Heroes and Heroines Day, will be celebrated at Road Bay, Sandy Ground with what is called “Vibe Fest 2020”. It takes place on Saturday, December 19, from 12 noon to 3.00 am the following day.
The promoters, Mr. Davon Carty and Mr. Ivan Berry, announced the event in an interview with The Anguillian newspaper on Wednesday, December 9. The event will be produced by Lit Lounge, the entertainment company owned by Anguillian singer, Deanna Mussington. It regularly holds several cultural and musical functions at Road Bay, Sandy Ground.
Asked to explain the event, Mr. Carty said: “We look at it as an exhibition of culture during the peak season – and it has never been done in Anguilla. Most of our cultural exhibitions take place during our slow season. We want to give visitors and Anguillians coming back home, at this time of the year, a taste of Anguillian culture. It is really our jump-off point for the season, even with this Covid situation. I think it is a good time to warm up for the holiday season.
“Quite a few people in Sandy Ground have been asking for a festival there – so we want to grow it to engage the entire community. Eventually, our hope is take it to the point where it is just as big as August Monday or even bigger. So we are starting small, but we want to grow it big.”
Mr. Berry spoke about the planned activities. “Sandy Ground is one of the epicentres for culture, and certainly entertainment,” he stated. “At Lit Lounge, we bring you a lot of shows and entertainment-driven functions; and people know that Lit Lounge is the place to be for free entertainment.
“With a lot of persons expressing a desire for a festival at Sandy Ground, we got together to create the festival on Saturday, December 19 from 12 pm to 3.00 am the following day. During the day we will have an A-class boat race and visitors will have an opportunity to see this national event. There will be a beach volleyball tournament and a domino tournament. In addition, we will have a number of DJs. They will be DJ Deaney; DJ Soundz; DJ Sugar; DJ Tights; and DJ Yooshe.
“The five DJs will be performing throughout the day and night. We will also have two live performances – one by Deanna with her full band; and the other by Springer and the Overdrive String Band.
“We will be transforming Lit Lounge, and an area of the beach, into a small festival where there will be various delicacies and all of that cultural stuff, plus the musical entertainment.”
Berry added: “This will be a yearly event for National Heroes’ and Heroines’ Day in Anguilla.”
The national holiday, which sprung out of the Anguilla Revolution, is dedicated to all the freedom fighters at that memorable era.
