Even though Halloween is two months away, this is Nevis Festival can be planned ahead for, if on a Nevis Vacation. Nevis Island is getting ready for their “Peppered Pickled Pirate Party!”

This Nevis Festival will be held October 24 through October 31, as well as November 21 through November 28, 2009. This Nevis Festival is just one, well, two of one kind, of all the wonderful, fun-filled Celebrations in Nevis!

So, why this topic for celebration you may ask… Well, plain and simple, Nevis Island wants to educate the world on its rich pirate history, as there is much to be discovered.

What will this Nevis Festival entail exactly? Well as you can probably guess, there will be plenty of rum, hiking, sailing, and festivities geared toward the pirates of the past. Who are some of the pirates to be celebrated? Just a few include Captain William Kid, Edward Lowe, Captain Bartholomew Sharpe and Black Bart Roberts.

Activities and Schedule are as follows, so you can plan ahead:

Saturday Night: Bonfire and Pirate Watch at Sunshine’s, oldest beach bar on Nevis. Starts at sunset.

Sunday-Pirate Party Starts
1. Pirate Invasion Day: Will be small regatta commemorating Kidd’s flight from St. Kitts after he stole the French Ship.
2. Horse Races mixed with Donkey Derby benefitting the Animal Rescue Centre.
3. Admiral’s Dinner at Montpelier Plantation Inn with Fancy Dress, try dart blowing using blowguns!

Monday
1. Start of locally made Pepper Sauce Contest in town.
2. Diving to ship remains and Anchor off Long Point in morning.
3. Sandy Sea Scenes on Beach by Four Seasons or near beach bars. Main prize would be Pirate Hammock locally made from fishing nets and rope.
4. Crew Carousal Supper At Golden Rock –Pirate Joke night with handmade prizes

Tuesday
1. Ruins Hikes at 9:00 a.m.
2. Afternoon at Herbert Heights.
3. Stargazing and Dinner at Ms. June’s discussing Celestial Navigation and sailing.

Wednesday
1. Heritage Village
2. Museum Day with Naval/Pirate Exhibits
3. “P” Party at Hermitage Hotel.

Thursday
1. Atlantic Kayaking off Nisbet
2. Snorkelling to Sea Fan Garden and Downed Plane with Marine Biologist
3. Roaring Rum Mixer at Nisbet Plantation Beach Club

Friday
1. Announce winner of Pepper Sauce Contest on radio.
2. Free day for exploring Nevis. Can schedule taxi tours, more hikes, diving, fishing or just sleep in the hammock!
3. West Indian Night at Mount Nevis Hotel, try your hand at Conch Shell Blowing

Saturday-Family Day at Oualie Hotel for Charities
1. Do “Sink the Sailor” (Terramar Institute)
2. Water wash out (Water balloons and squirt guns).
3. Poker Road Race for Nevis Bicycling Club Music Night at Oualie
4. May also have Crab Races, Tug of war, and more

During Week
• Treasure Chest Hunt – Radio runs daily clues on where small “Treasure Chest” is located, clues will also be posted daily at Hotels.
• Showing of Pirate Movies – Mixture old pirate movies with Pirates of the Caribbean.
• Change Centre (Charity for single mothers) do Raffle for craft or Art.

For more information see http://piratesofnevis.com/.

Nevis Lover ~ Becca Briley

Three of the head honchos of Nevis were proud of the outcome!

Hon. Robelto Hector is the Minister of Agriculture on Nevis Island. He was all smiles as he expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the fifth annual Nevis Fruit Festival!

This was hosted by the Department and Ministry of Agriculture on Nevis last Friday. For those who do not know much about it, it is the annual celebration of Nevis fruits!

It is said to be an essence of a healthy diet; something we can all appreciate! This is held mainly to educate residents about the different kinds of fruits produced on Nevis Island, as well as their importance.

Smiling islanders and happy visitors alike sampled a wide range of delicious dishes and drinks tastefully prepared in the most creative ways from locally grown tropical fruits. For more information on specifics about the event, contact the Department of Agriculture:at 469–5603 or 469-7302.

SKNVibes reported that Hon. Robelto Hector described the event at the Villa grounds in Charlestown, as one designed to portray the richness of fruits and their economic potential and urged persons to plant fruit trees.

He said:

The event is a time when we also focus on nutrition…as the healthier a nation is the more productive it is.

We are asking persons to take example, we lead by example and are here showing what can be done with a little bit of land, a little bit of effort…

Nevisians by far eat too little fruit they tend to eat more processed foods than anything else so we are here to promote the eating of healthy fruits which are quite available and promoting the growing of fruit trees.

Dr. Daly also gave some insight:

We have mango trees that can grow in three or four years, we have carambola in two years, wax apple in a year and a half so it is not a difficult thing to do. So if you come by the Department of Agriculture in Prospect, we have a number of fruit trees available for you if you don’t see what you want we can get it for you.

We are asking persons to eat healthy. All the information is here to show the various uses of these fruits and we are hoping that persons will listen and ward off diseases that have come amongst us in the last decade or two because we have strayed away from what works, which is healthy eating and healthy living.

They seem to really care about the health and nutrition of Nevis Island!

Hon. Patrice Nisbett is the Legal Advisor in the Nevis Island Administration. He put in his positve two cents on the event as well:

I believe that it’s a clear demonstration and an indication that agriculture is in fact alive and well and contrary to what people believe and what people think, one can be successful at agriculture in a pretty short time, once one is truly dedicated and committed.

All hope that the annual Nevis Fruit Festival will continue to grow from strength to strength, which it seems to be doing!

Nevis Lover ~ Becca Briley

Today was a big day for Nevis Island, as it was the day for the Department of Agriculture Fruit Festival, which was a success!

Today also marks the Official Opening Ceremony for Culturama 35, which is taking place right now!

The Mr. and Ms. talented Youth Pageant and Junior Kaiso Contest is soon to take place this evening as well… just after the opening ceremony…

Tune back in tomorrow to see how the events went!

As for planning ahead, here are the events that will be taking place throughout the next week:

Culturama 35 Clash of D’Bands - Friday 31 July - 9pm

Culturama 35 Food Fair - Saturday 1 August - 7am

Senior Kaiso Finals - Saturday 1 August - 9pm

Culturama 35 Drag Racing - Sunday 2 August - 2pm

Ms Culture Queen Pageant - Sunday 2 August - 8pm

Emancipation J’overt Jump Up - Monday 3 August - 5am

Don Bartlette Memorial Race Meet - Monday 3 August - 2pm

Culturama 35 Freedom Concert - Monday 3 August - 9pm

Culturama 35 Street Parade and Last Lap - Tuesday 4 August - 1pm

Culturama 35 Prize Giving Ceremony - Saturday 15 August - 8pm

Nevis Lover ~ Becca Briley

Premier of Nevis and Minister of Tourism, Joseph Parry, is sure that the Charlestown Redevelopment Plan will benefit Nevis!

Caribbean Net News reported that The Charlestown Waterfront and construction workers on Nevis stand to benefit from the proposed redevelopment of Nevis’s Bay Front.

Here is what it plans to look like!

Parry recently met with New York based developers Namdar Brothers Realty, also the developer for Port Zante in St Kitts. He gave him the assurance that the Charlestown Redevelopment Plan would provide more employment for Nevis at the construction and conclusion stages. This is always a good thing!

The Nevis Island Administration (NIA) has placed much emphasis on this endeavor!
Here is what Parry had to say:

“We have planned as a government to try to ease the impact of the recession in the States by doing things on the ground and so far we have been successful…

We have provided employment for quite a lot of people and we want to continue to do so through these activities so we want to avoid any unnecessary delays we want to move as fast as you can.

As in most huge projects usch as this, there are stages involved.

“Iraj Nambar explained that Phase 1 was projected to be completed in 12-15 months once ground was broken.”

He said:

We are going to start with the Customs Building [warehouse]… The idea would be to develop a brand new structure…You will have a brand new development in the centre of town as well as the waterfront. Phase one will include the strip of street which is called Market Street for the design purposes to be cobbled stone.

It will be a pedestrianised street where there will be tables and chairs and landscaping and it will not affect traffic. We believe this will bring people to the area to walk around and enjoy it.

This area is also intended to include cafes, coffee shops and ice cream stores. The future is looking bright and new for Charlestown Nevis! I can’t wait to see how the project unfolds!

A proud Premier of Nevis and Minister of Tourism, Joseph Parry

Nevis Lover ~ Becca Briley