The Valley Street Festival, now in its third year, was one of the early events which launched Tourism Week, currently being observed in Anguilla. The theme of the November 29 – December 6 event is “Sustainable Practices for Significant Growth”.
This time, the festival of food, arts, crafts and music, at the People’s Market Square, coincided on Saturday, November 29, with the soft opening of the Food Court. The facility, which is still being developed, occupies a nearby area designated for that purpose by Government to provide a central place of accommodation for vendors operating food vans and other food stalls.
Mrs Candis Niles, Director of Tourism, was on hand at both The Valley Street Festival and the soft opening of the Food Court. She told The Anguillian: “The festival is now in its third year, and I think it is continuing to grow from strength to strength; and we continue to get requests from persons to have this more of a regular event. However, we think that the two instalments we have right now, we will continue with them. As it becomes more of a permanent fixture, and with the addition of the food court coming on stream, I think that it will indeed continue to foster a spirit of community as well as becoming a vehicle for the expression of our traditions and our culture.”
Speaking later on, at the opening of the food court, Mrs Niles said the facility and the street festival represented “a coming together of the people of Anguilla for something wonderful”, and she expressed surprise about how busy the area had become.
Mr William Vanterpool, Director of Agriculture, who presided over the opening ceremony for the food court, said there was still much structural work to be done and he hoped that this would be completed in the near future. For the time being, permission had been granted to fifteen contract holders to operate their food vans in the area. “We are hoping to build some permanent structures and you will see a transformation of this area in time,” he stated.
Mr Bren Romney, Director of Youth and Culture, said his department was pleased to partner with the Tourist Board in the street festival, and was pleased to see the provision of the food court which he described as “a welcome addition”. He was also delighted to see the large turnout of persons at both events, as well as a number of children playing in bouncing castles and other activities including face-painting.
Mr Jerome Roberts, Minister responsible for Home Affairs and Culture, said a number of persons within his ministry, and in the public, had issues with the location of the food court. “They are thinking about aesthetics, the water table, sound, and all sort of things but, at some point in time, you have to make a decision, and the decision was that you have to look at the greater good,” he stated. “There are also those who talk about digging up agricultural lands.
“I want to say in particular to the Rastas – who occupied that portion of land for some time – thanks for your support and understanding as we discussed this new area for the food court.” He especially thanked Grieg Hughes, who freely used his equipment to do the bulk of work on the court, as well as the contribution by Justus Rogers, using his backhoe, as well as other persons.
Mr Roberts said there had been a large number of applications for the use of the food court, but for now only fifteen operators could be accommodated. He added that a section of the area, close to the People’s Market, was earmarked to serve as an arts and crafts display area.
