Caribbean Beat — March/April 2018 (#150)

datebook
If you’re in . . .
MIAMI
GUYANA
TRINIDAD
kiwanis club of little havana
Carnaval Miami
Venues around Miami
10 February to 11 March
carnavalmiami.com
Every year, Miami’s Latin community
celebrate their roots at month-long
Carnaval Miami — one of the city’s
largest festivals of Latin culture, and
a community project fundraiser by
the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana.
March kicks off with Carnaval on the
Mile, a street festival stretching the
full length of Coral Gables’ “Miracle
Mile.” With food stalls, live bands,
and exhibits by over 150 artists,
downtown Coral Gables becomes a
hotspot for art-lovers. Foodies unite at
Cork & Fork, the Cooking Showdown,
and the Cuban Sandwich Smackdown.
In Miami, March has even been
proclaimed Cuban sandwich month.
But you’re guaranteed to work
off the calories at Calle Ocho Miami.
Traversing the twenty blocks of this
street festival will make you dance the
entire day, as you enjoy music stages,
international food stations, and other
entertainment. Havana, Cuba, may
be renowned for its ballet, vintage
cars, and cigars, but the Calle Ocho
festival in Miami’s own Little Havana
is notorious for the party — and for
breaking records. In 1988, the festival
set a world record for the longest
conga line, with 119,986 people, and
in 2000 it served up the world’s longest
cigar. Maybe this year they’ll serve up
the world’s largest Cuban sandwich!
ChuckSchugPhotography/istock.com
Bartica Easter Regatta
31 March to 2 April
Bartica, Essequibo
Guyana’s “many waters” meet at
the confluence of the Mazaruni,
Cuyuni and Essequibo Rivers, where
the mining town of Bartica hosts a
magnificent array of entertaining
activities over the long Easter
weekend. And it all began because of
a challenge from a competitive local
to a thrill-seeking foreigner. In 1947,
a visiting yachtsman sped across
the Essequibo in his twenty-twohorsepower-engine
yacht, displaying
“adventurous river navigation skills.”
Locals were intrigued. Not to be
outdone, Charles Guthrie, manager
of a Bartica electrical company,
pulled out his own arsenal — an
aluminium utility boat with the same
engine. Needless to say, the entire
town of Bartica and environs came
out to witness the contest, and the
rest is history.
The Easter Regatta begins with
a Street Jam on Easter Saturday,
followed by the Miss Regatta Pageant.
Easter Sunday and Monday bring the
main event: F1 Power Boat Racing,
where dozens of vessels compete in
an expanse of river broad as a bay.
Other activities include a gymkhana
presentation, a gospel concert, and
various sporting competitions.
NGC Bocas Lit Fest
National Library and other venues
around Port of Spain
25 to 29 April
bocaslitfest.com
A passion for bringing words alive
is palpable at the Anglophone
Caribbean’s largest literary festival.
Your biggest problem might be
deciding which events to attend,
from the selection of over a
hundred workshops, readings, lively
discussions, and film screenings.
This year’s headline writers include
Jamaica’s first female poet laureate,
Lorna Goodison, alongside Trinidadborn
Canadian novelist André Alexis
and star poets Kei Miller and Vahni
Capildeo. Caribbean writers are
the heart of the festival, joined this
year by authors from Sri Lanka, New
Zealand, and Fiji — part of a special
focus on global island literature.
Intellectual heft is expected in
discussions on the future of islands,
with special emphasis on economics,
development, and the environment.
And if you can’t attend the main
festival, there’s a month-long prefestival
programme of performances,
book launches, and films.
Event previews by Shelly-Ann Inniss
georgia popplewell
18 WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM