The Anguilla Summer Festival Committee with the support of the Ministry of Social Development and the Department of Youth & Culture, have been busily planning the eagerly anticipate Anguilla Summer Festival (ASF) 2021. This event is one of, if not “the” premier event on our cultural calendar. Several of our ASF activities are also extremely popular with many of our regional neighbours, including the August Monday Beach Party, daily Boat Races and the Leeward Islands Calypso Competition.
Given the foregoing, the Ministry, the DYC and the ASF have found it extremely difficult to make the decision to cancel all GoA-sponsored Summer Festival events for 2021. Though the organisers were able to condense Summer Festival 2020 into a one-day event, that was executed with closed borders and no restrictions. In comparison, this year we will be faced with the prospect of open borders making it more difficult to assure the safety of our people.
While Anguilla is making top of the region strides towards ‘herd immunity’ as the majority of our adult population accept the responsibility to be vaccinated, this status is not guaranteed. Further, the ASF had a threshold of three registered participants to enable putting on events this year. Unfortunately, this number has not been established for most shows. Therefore, taking these factors into consideration along with Anguilla’s challenging financial situation, the decision has been made to focus on the achievement of a well-executed summer festival in 2022.
The Ministry and the DYC would like to further advise, that the position of the GoA does not preclude private organisers executing their events. Any private summer festival events must strictly adhere to all GoA requirements and protocols, and must receive permission for sound amplification from the Royal Anguilla Police Force. The Ministry and the DYC stand ready to work with private entities who wish to stage shows or activities during the ‘August week’ and encourage interested promoters/organisers to reach out to the DYC with questions or concerns.
– Published Without editing by The Anguillian Newspaper
