Families, couples, children and friends, of all ages, found much relaxation and pleasure as they spread-out on blankets, or sat on chairs and benches, on the grass at the eastern annex of the Anguilla Football Association.
To them, it was a delight as they listened mainly to jazz music at its best – and enjoyed food and drink between 5.30 pm and 10.00 pm on November 28, 2021.
The event, Tranquil Jazz on the Lawn” was part of an 8-day Malliouhana Fest which commenced on November 27 and continues until December 19 at several locations with other events. Originally, the jazz event was scheduled to be held at the Agricultural Lawn but, due to saturation from the recent rain, it was moved to the drier Football Association’s area. There, the crowd soon built up, allowing the 7-item jazz to begin after some delay.
The main organiser of Malliouhana Fest, Ms. Tiffany Rogers-Carty, Senior Programme Officer, at the Department of Youth and Culture, spoke to The Anguillian newspaper about the fest. “It is a cultural and arts festival running from November 27 until December 19,” she explained. “Today, November 28, we have Tranquil Jazz on the Lawn and we encouraged all persons to come, bring their blankets and relax. We have food by Ethnik and drinks at the bar by IWAS for sale, but the event itself is free. I will say that the Cultural Arts Team, at the Department of Youth and Culture, has worked really hard on putting the event together – and thanks to Kemoloy Murphy, our Programme Officer for Youth & Culture.”
She continued: “This specific event is basically to give recognition to our local artistes. We have one artiste from abroad this year – Steven [Cat] Coore – but this event is to recognise the artistes who are not in the usual art forms, or genres of music that get highlighted, such as soca and calypso. We have Royalties, Gershwin Lake & The Parables, Jaine Rogers, Andy Goddard, Gregg Hazel and the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School Jazz Ensemble. We also have Cat Coore and Norris Webbe from Third World in Jamaica who will also be performing with us. This is the second time that we have had Tranquil Jazz. We had it last year and we will have it again next year when we hope to be in the Agricultural Garden.”
Minister of Social Development and Education, Ms. Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers, said the jazz event was part of a longer week of activities, and that it was one of her favourite events. “I think it is a unique opportunity to see Anguillian talent in another genre of music,” she stated. “Usually, we have a lot of soca artistes, but with Jazz on the Lawn we have an opportunity to do something that connects us to persons of all walks of life. You can have children, persons who are religious, and even persons who are not religious, coming here together to experience music at once. So, for me, Jazz on the Lawn is one of the attempts by the Department of Youth and Culture, and the Ministry, to reach out to all walks of life to create entertainment for everybody – not just for carnival.
“It is supposed to widen the net so that everybody can enjoy and love musical pieces of Anguilla. And who doesn’t love music? This is a great opportunity for us to continue to expand our offerings, and to expose our young artistes to the Anguillian community so that they can get involved and buy into their music in the long run.”
The opening event of Malliouhana Fest, on November 27, was Leh We Roam, an Art Walk at the Rodney McArthur Rey Auditorium. The upcoming events are Culture on the Road on December 3 from 9 am to 5.00 pm; the Launch of a National Dress Competition, at the Street Fair of the Anguilla Tourist Board on December 4, commencing at 2.00 pm; Arise: A GBV Awareness Through Art in collaboration with Gender Affairs on December 10 at the Paint Anguilla Studio from 6.30 pm to 9.30 pm; an Anguilla Music Academy Symposium on December 11 from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm; Storytelling Under the Stars on the Agricultural Grounds on December 18, from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm; and Culture & Arts Awards at DaVida Restaurant on December 19, commencing at 6.30 pm.
