Sept. 25, 2006 — This year's World Creole Music Festival promises to "shock and awe" locals and visitors alike with such top international music acts as Shaggy, Wyclef Jean and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, an organizer said Monday.
"It's the festival that never sleeps," said Valantine A. Cuffy, executive director of the Dominica Festivals Commission. "And we're all going to have a ball of a time."
The festival, coming up Oct. 27-29, will take place on Dominica at Pottersville Savannah in Roseau, the island's capital. Cuffy and a small contingent of representatives from Dominica's Division of Tourism spoke at a press conference in the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort on St. Thomas.
The event will also feature other top local and regional acts, along with a plethora of activities and sideshows.
"We'll have food and clothes on sale, music going, and a number of other things to do, such as horseback riding, kayaking and river rafting," said Kathleen Cuffy, a representative from the island's tourism agency. "So we're asking everybody to come on down to Dominica and experience this wonderful event in a picturesque setting."
The festival falls close to the island's independence day celebrations, Valantine Cuffy noted. It will also feature shows and events that highlight Dominca's rich Creole heritage.
"So it's going to be two weekends of intense activity," he said, adding that a Creole Festival warmup will take place Oct. 21, followed by Heritage Day celebrations Oct. 22.
The World Creole Music Festival, currently in its 10th year, is one of Dominica's biggest events, according to the commission's website. It has brought together world-renowned artists from all over the Caribbean, U.S. and Africa, including Sizzla, Elephant Man, Rupee, Glen Washington and Marshall Montano. Local acts, such as the V.I.'s Cool Sessions Brass, have also participated.
While the Virgin Islands doesn't have a band featured in this year's lineup, Valantine Cuffy said the festival will feature native bands from Guadeloupe, Haiti and, of course, Dominica.
This year's featured festival performers:
Friday, Oct. 27
— Shaggy, from Jamaica
— Royalty Band, from the U.S.
— Zouk Fram (Kravan), from Guadeloupe
— T-Vice, from Haiti
— WCK, from Dominica
Saturday, Oct. 28
— Wyclef Jean, from Haiti
— Djakout, from Haiti
— Sakis, from Africa
— Triple Kay, from Dominica
— Swinging Stars, featuring Hunter and King Dice, from Dominica
Sunday, Oct. 29
— Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, from Jamaica
— Tabou Combo, from Haiti
— Admiral T, from Guadeloupe
— Impromtu Band, from Dominica
— Carimi, from Haiti
Side acts and other performances include: Creole in the North and East, the Miss Wob Dwiyet Show, Creole and All That Jazz, Cadance/Zoukmania and Creole in the Park.
For more information on the festival, or to purchase tickets, visit the festival's website.
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