Blues Festival off till next year

Fans of the increasingly popular St. Vincent and the Grenadines Blues and Rhythms Festival will have to wait at least six months before they get a taste of what was referred to as the best put together event in the country.{{more}}

The Blues Fest, as it is affectionately called, was scheduled to be a part of this year’s Vincy Homecoming programme, but was cancelled by organisers, the Ministry of Tourism.

Minister of Tourism Glen Beache, announcing the cancellation at a press conference on Tuesday said that fans of the event could be assured of its return in full force next March.

He added that the fest was cancelled because of a number of unforeseen circumstances that arose after they decided to change the date to October this year.

The proximity of this month’s event to the regular schedule next March was a major issue, Beache added, along with the number of activities taking place during the month, and the current global economic climate.

“We believe [when he look] at all the activities that will be taking place in October … it might be a bit saturated,” the Minister explained.

“We also have to be cognizant … of the financial situation internationally. With what we’re spending on homecoming on the concerts and activities taking place at that time, would it be in our best interest to spend even more money on entertainment than what is already being spent?

“While this has become a very important part of our tourism product, we have decided to promote some of the homecoming activities instead.”

Beache said that last year’s festival had the largest turnout since its inception in 2002, and despite the failure of the show to make a profit, it generated considerable income for various sectors of the tourism industry.

“I do know that the hotels have said that they see an increase in numbers of people coming in for the show… The taxis have said the same thing, and a number of restaurants have said the same thing – and that’s exactly what we aim at.”

Beache said he regarded the event as the best produced and managed event to take place here.

With additional time to plan the 2010 edition of the festival and with top-of-the-line artistes yet to be announced, the Minister is looking forward to hosting the best show ever.