From Caribbean News Service

Ten days of regional cultural expression came to an end at Kensington Oval Sunday night with organizers saying the festival was a resounding success.

The Minister of Culture in Barbados Stephen Lashley said that all the critical objectives of CARIFESTA XIII were met.

In addition, he told the official closing ceremony that the festival bright tangible benefits to artists.

“We were able to attract 25 buyers who focused on all areas of the festival. However, special attention was paid by these international buyers to the area of gourmet,” Lashely said.

“In the case of Barbados, there were factory visits and orders were placed. Fashion also received much attention and Guyana was among the countries that stood out in that area.”

Lashley added that a Colombian company has pledged to work on the development of a programme in the fashion area with designers.

The Minister also noted that the festival left some lessons to be learnt for its future.

“CARIFESTA XIII has also shown us that the cultural industries can play a significant role in national development. There is still some work to be done in various areas which were points of discussion between buyers and exhibitors,” Lashley said.

The festival was overshadowed by the death of Guyanese national Petal Frank of Guyana.

The independent exhibitor at the CARIFESTA Grand Market at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre fell ill on Wednesday and was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she passed away on Friday because of diabetic complications.

The next CARIFESTA is scheduled for Trinidad and Tobago in 2019.

IMAGE: Barbados Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, Stephen Lashley

For more on this story go to: https://caribbeannewsservice.com/now/barbados-carifesta-xiii-ends/