St Kitts & Nevis: Culturama 50 preparations ramps up

The Culturama festival celebrates the culture and embraces the history of Nevis, an event full of color, music, dance, a march through downtown Charlestown and visual performance arts as far as the eye can see.

The festival is set to take place from July 25 to August 6, 2024.

The festival encourages community involvement, even going so far as to hold a slogan competition for Culturama 50. The winning slogan for this year is “Celebrating Culture, Embracing History, It’s Culturama 50” which was penned by Carmel Allen, a resident of Prospect, St John's Parish.

Culturama is celebrated as a public Holiday in Saint Kitts & Nevis which takes place on the first Tuesday in August every year.

The festival is rooted in celebrating the emancipation of the slaves in the 1830s, a time that is marked to be one of the most vital and influential moments in the nation's history.

To encourage tourism and attraction for the event, the organizing committee has also initiated the Culturama 50 Homestay Initiative. To participate just submit basic documents and information to the Nevis Tourism Authority.

Once accepted, the authority will then agree on an inspection date with the homeowner, and provide a list of mandatory prerequisites. This initiative is meant to provide alternative and affordable accommodation for visitors and returning nationals.

Other incentive programmes have also been put into action, namely for aesthetic and cosmetic changes for the festival, alongside an exemption on Customs Duty and Customs Service Charges, although Value Added Tax will remain wherever applicable. The festival is also being promoted by Nikeva Stapleton, granddaughter of the legendary David Freeman. Freemon is considered a Nevis icon and one of the greatest fife players the nation has ever known who peacefully passed away on the 26^th of May 2018.

The memory of De Maestro has been well respected in the region since his passing. A statue in memory of him was also placed at the junction of the market shop complete with his fife.