Carifesta - Haiti Observer Blog

Haiti Successfully Hosts its First CARIFESTA 12th Edition

The island of Haiti finally hosted for the first time the 12th edition of CARIFESTA, a cultural event that included participants from the north and Latin American continents, along with the Caribbean region. Port-au-Prince was the site of the festivities.

At the staging area the public was treated to a profusion of costumes each contingent of participants were arrayed in. Then followed a nearly three-hour parade that proceeded to Cuoss Ocsde Janty Champ de Marse, the venue that held the opening ceremony. Once there the crowd of thousands were entertained by the Traditional Orchestral Band of Haiti and a Haitian fan favorite, Micka Benn.

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The Haitian people are preparing themselves for the upcoming CARIFESTA XII festival in the month of August. They will greet and host several thousands of people from the region and other guests from the CARICOM member states. The festival of arts and culture will run from August 14 to 23 and will feature events across the country. Haiti had been officially named as the host country for the 12th edition of the CARIFESTA regional cultural festival in April 2013.

The CARIFESTA or Caribbean Festival of Arts, has assumed a pre-eminent place because it is not just about shows and exhibitions. It's meant to provide a forum where artists can discuss motivation, technique and other aspects of the arts. It is an international, multicultural event organized on a periodic basis by the countries of the Caribbean. The main purpose of the festival is to gather musicians, artists, authors, and to display the folkloric and artistic expression of the Caribbean and Latin American region. This year's theme would be `Our Roots, Our Culture, Our Common Future'.

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Recently, on the third week of March 2015, Jean Michel Lapin, the Director General of the Haitian Ministry of Culture, accompanied by Elsa Baussan Noel, the Adviser to the President Martelly and other officials, Robert Denis of Council of Performing Arts, Geneviève Louissaint Boncy of the particular office of Head of State, have made an assessment on the needed renovation works for several public places where various activities of the upcoming 12th Arts Festival of the Caribbean, "Carifestato", would be held between August 14th and 23rd. The theme of this festival would be "Our Roots, Our Culture, Our Common Future".

The Haitian Prime Minister, in the presence of the Minister of Culture and Minister of Tourism and Creative Industries, has launched an official website for the festival named "CARIFESTA" (www.carifesta.net/) which will provide information related to all cultural events of the program. During this occasion, the Prime Minister has said that this gives an opportunity to exhibit our tourism potentials and richness of our cultural diversity and at the same time it also shows our ability to organize such a major cultural festival. He has invited all cultural sections of the country to represent and bring forth their talents to make this event a success. Stéphanie Balmir Villedrouin, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Industries has guaranteed that the entire tourism sector is ready to welcome and accommodate some 2,000 delegates, representing participating countries in the major event. Dithny Joan Raton, the Minister of Culture has said that this is an opportunity to highlight country's tourism potential. He has also announced a range of colorful activities to make the festival attractive with many memorable moments.

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The Government of Haiti (GOH), in an ongoing effort to increase tourism, is submitting a competitive bid to play host for the CARIFESTA annual arts and music fair in 2015, announced President Martelly's office.

This announcement comes on the heels of President Martelly's attendance at the CARICOM Summit in St. Lucia, and signing of a Memorandum of Intention, agreed to by the GOH and CARICOM. Contained in the memorandum are commitments between the partners for the re-development of Haiti, the renewal of agriculture production, and the simplification of procuring private investments.

At the Summit working sessions, President Martelly laid out his government's objectives and the projected outcomes of the GOH's intention to present Haiti in a more positive light on the global stage, conditioned by an improved quality of life standard and sustained economic growth.

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Caribbean Festival of Arts commonly referred to as carifesta is one of the oldest festivals held by Caribbean countries periodically with the sole motive of ensuring that everyone in the region is able to easily understand and follow on the nations` folkloric and cultural practices. It has been an event organized by these nations periodically this time being planned to be held in Haiti. This is according to the president of the country President Michel Martelly who attended this week's CARICOM Summit in St Lucia, and was on hand for the signing of a Memorandum between CARICOM and Haiti for institution building, the revival of agriculture and investment facilitation.

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