Calling it a cultural explosion brewing excitement around the brand’s 25th Anniversary and the country’s independence, Kalik Beer executives today unveiled plans for the family-friendly Festival of The Bahama Islands, featuring
dozens of vendors and live demonstrations and performances by artists,
dancers, musicians, craftsmen and storytellers from across the
archipelago.
The festival, set for Saturday, June 29,
is a departure from traditional Kalik events, designed for local
families and visitors to get a taste of the fare, crafts and
entertainment of all the islands. An official 40th Anniversary of
Independence event, Kalik's Festival of The Bahama Islands is sponsored
by BTC, Coca-Cola and ZNS with the support of the Ministry of Youth,
Sports & Culture. The day-long party of “all things Bahamian” will
be held at the Botanical Gardens, near historic Fort Charlotte and
Clifford Park, a fitting backdrop for this year's commemoration,
organizers said.
“Kalik’s Festival of The Bahama Islands will
celebrate our love for Bahamian music, food and entertainment and offer
champions of Bahamian culture opportunities to showcase their
contributions as a part of the Bahamian cultural experience,” said Kalik
Brand Manager Jannifer Thurston. Timing of the festival was set less
than two weeks away from the country’s Independence celebration, while
Kalik is also celebrating a birthday of its own with a silver 25th
anniversary. Thurston sees the dual celebration as added excitement for
the first-ever event.
“It
is envisioned that this festival will be the first of its kind bringing
together artisans from every major Bahamian island. This all-day
festival will highlight Kalik’s 25 years of being the Beer of The
Bahamas and showcase culture, culinary delights and music from these
islands. The highlight of the event will be an all-Bahamian concert
featuring well-known Bahamian musicians. We will broadcast the concert
on ZNS-TV beginning at 8 pm to ensure that everyone can feel the spirit and join in the fun.”
Doors open at 10am with the celebration's official kick-off at 12pm.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for children under the age of 12 for a
full day of Junkanoo music and costume building demonstrations,
quadrille dancing, jewelry making, painting, percussion musical
performances, fashion shows, bush tea demonstrations, crab catching and
straw plaiting lessons, Cascarilla bark demonstration and more. The
Royal Bahamas Police Force Band and the legendary Lassie Doh Boys are
also on tap for entertainment and a concert entitled Celebrating 40 Years of Bahamian Music featuring Tingum Dem an’ Friends is also lined up. The event will culminate with a Junkanoo rush.