After a two-year hiatus as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Dominica Creole World Music Festival, which attracts many Caribbean nationals, is finally back.
From Friday to Sunday, customers will enjoy soca, dancehall, reggae, zouk, kompa and bouyon.
The 2022 edition of the festival will feature many different genres of music from folk stars such as Patrice Roberts, Kes the Band, Bouyon King, Shenseea and Dexta Daps, Asa Banton, Afrobeats stars Burna Boy and French ragga singer Zouk and compa Jocelyne Beroard of Kassav fame, Chiré LaKay, Admiral T from Guadeloupe, and from Haiti K-Dilak and Bedjine and Enposib.
Speaking to Kitcharee about preparations for the festival last Friday, Discover Dominica Destination (DDA) marketing manager Kimberly King said arrangements are going quite well.
“I walked into the Festival last Thursday and the Windsor Park Sports Stadium (where many of the upcoming local acts perform) is ready and the main stage is nearing completion with minor changes ongoing, the relevant security checks are in place and the production the team has finalized sound checks for this week,” King noted.
When asked if it was difficult for DDA to get back on track due to the two-year hiatus, King said that since the Festival is in its 22nd edition, the learning curve is well established.
“However, this is the biggest festival to date (23 acts) and definitely the one with the most global reach. With this came several areas of opportunity. We were able to work with these, learn from them and move forward planning an incredible show,” she explained.
In an effort to keep the festival attractive with the best artists in the Caribbean and internationally, King shared that they start with a list of artists influenced by public opinion and then narrow it down to a program that they feel will have the most impact on aspect of importance. , catalog (of music) and attraction factor.
“The festival was built on certain genres, especially the Dominican-created genres of cadence-lypso, bouyon and francophone genres like zouk and kompa, so we try to have artists that represent these genres at the festival,” said the marketing manager.
The festival, which is held at the end of October, leads into the country’s Independence Day celebrations on November 3. Before Covid, the number of patrons on festival nights, King said, ranged from 5-8,000. She said Saturday has been a popular night for night ticket sales except for season ticket holders.
“The two-year hiatus will certainly help the number of visitors to the island and patrons of the show, especially those loyalists or music fans who wish to return to the event. We know that lineup tends to have the biggest effect on attendance, and each year we’ve increased the show in terms of artist star power. This year is particularly balanced with top artists across multiple genres, including the trendiest genre, Afrobeat,” she admitted.
The destination markets that the Creole Music Festival attracts are the French West Indies (Guadeloupe and Martinique respectively).
In 2019, King said the number of attendees from this source market represented almost 50 percent of total attendees.
The DDA’s aim is to attract more Trinidad and Tobago nationals, she said, citing that T&T is the Caribbean’s largest English-speaking market next to Dominica.
“Many Trinidadians are not aware that Caribbean Airlines offers a direct flight to Dominica on Thursday and a return flight on Saturday. For the Festival we have also added capacity to allow Trinbagonians to arrive on Thursday October 27 and depart on Monday October 31,” she noted.
This Creole Music Festival is a major tourism driver for Dominica, as festivals and events represent an important pillar in promoting the island’s tourism.
“Based on visitor arrivals and spending on the island, there is ongoing interest at a macro level in how the event can be developed further and contribute to an overall sustainable tourism product,” King said.
Along with musical celebrations, a Creole village set up from tomorrow to Thursday in the botanical gardens of the capital (Roseau) will allow visitors to discover Dominica.
Other aspects patrons can enjoy at the Festival, King said, is the rich Creole culture, which is very evident in the food.
“In addition to the fantastic stage performances and general atmosphere, I will encourage attendees to enjoy the crabs, crab soup and goat water (a light soup made with freshly boiled goat meat) among other delicacies. Or visit the craft market and buy a unique Dominican gift to bring back home,” she emphasized.
Dominica, like other countries in the Caribbean and internationally, all pre-arrival Covid testing for the vaccinated and unvaccinated has been lifted and the mask mandate has been lifted.
While Covid has not completely left the world, the marketing manager mentioned that as far as practical, social distancing will be encouraged.
“There will be disinfection stations and everyone is asked to wash their hands. During this pandemic, health professionals have done an extraordinary job of raising public awareness, managing the virus, and local people have taken the necessary measures to protect themselves,” she said.
So what other plans does the DDA have for 2023 besides this festival, King announced that Dominica was recently rated the number one destination in the Caribbean by Travel and Leisure.
“Our plan is to continually go to market with this key message and focus on our public relations and commercial activations for specific markets. For festival and event goers, look out for the so called ‘real mas’ Carnival in February, Jazz ‘n Creole at the end of April, a new ‘tasty’ event (surprise) and of course, the World Creole Music Festival at the end of October. “, she added.
