SLJAF…Beyond The News Soundbite.
CALABASH TV, with its compelling community television orientation is ideal to tell the full story of the Festival and its impact on the saint Lucian landscape over twenty-five years. Capita Financial Services brings financial and brand
At the heart of Calabash TV is a real community-focused approach to journalism. A number of the station’s programmes are geared toward showcasing the positive aspects of our community – the persons who give back and help improve the lives of the disadvantaged in their communities, the young persons who are making a difference in their own unique way, persons who turn misfortune into things who benefit those around them – these are the people who are inspired by the folks at Calabash TV.
So to have a company like Calabash come on board as a sponsor shows that we are doing something right in the communities that Jazz touches. It means that the arts and culture component of the festival have a strong foothold among festival supporters.
“We are looking to continue to build on the rich history of the festival, particularly with the art component, and with sponsors like Calabash TV supporting us along the way the future of the festival looks brilliant!” noted Louis Lewis, Saint Lucia Tourist Board’s Director of Tourism.
Bernard Fanis of Calabash TV stated, “We want to commend the Saint Lucia Tourist Board for recognising the importance of continuing to enhance the arts and culture component of the festival each year. Not only does the festival give opportunity to our local musical artists to refine their talents and exposure to an international audience, but the festival also showcases what it means to be uniquely Caribbean. From fashion to written word to dance and drama, the Festival takes an all-encompassing approach to exposing St. Lucia’s rich and vibrant artistic talents – it mirrors what we try to do here at Calabash TV.”
For instance this year the Cultural Icon Series pays tribute to Virginia Alexander who has made an undeniable mark and shaped the dance culture in Saint Lucia. The tribute will feature internationally acclaimed performers with local heritage bringing a performance to an audience that would not under the usual circumstances have an opportunity to experience.
A week of poetry and spoken word at the Blu Session – Word in Altered Scale session and a visual arts exhibition are also on schedule. Derek Walcott’s epic poem, Omeros will take centre stage during the Arts Night Theatre performance and the arts segment comes to a close with the fiercely popular Saint Lucia Hot Couture; where the most exciting up and coming fashion designers converge in colourful display of Caribbean fashion.
There is no doubt that with the increasing creative diversity on the Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival’s menu, those aspects that matter most to the average citizen will be captured by Calabash TV and carefully packaged to retain the integrity of all that is home grown and unique about it for rebroadcast, but also for documentatioan and posterity.