Grand Cayman, 19 October 2022: the Cayman Islands Folk Singers will perform at several venues around Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac this year, performing at the Lion Centre for Old Person’s Month, in all districts for Gimistory, Christmas of YesterYear and Christmas concerts. Starting in Cayman Brac this Saturday 22 October, the group will finish the season with a production in partnership with the Cayman Islands National Dance Company at Harquail Theatre on Sunday 18 December.

Founded in 2009, the Cayman Islands Folk Singers celebrate and preserve Cayman’s musical traditions, introducing folk songs and dance to new generations. The group’s repertoire includes old favourites such as Munzie’s Boat, Chip Up Potato and the songs of “Aunt” Julia Hydes, as well as songs from around the region.

Following last year’s sold-out performances of “Memories of YesterYear” concerts, the Cayman Islands Folk Singers held auditions last month and have recruited six new members to join the ensemble cast of singers and musicians led by musical director Noel Wallace.

Cayman Islands Folk Singers manager Carmen Godfrey said, “We are delighted to have new and returning members joining us on stage for this season’s performances. As a group of volunteer singers and musicians with high production values, we strive to put on the best performance for our audiences.”

The full schedule of performances by the Cayman Islands Folk Singers is as follows:

Friday 11 November: Elmslie Memorial International Night

Saturday 22 October: Cayman Brac, Aston Rutty Centre Friday 28 October: Older Person’s Gala, Lion’s Centre

Sunday 27 November: Gimistory Welcome Reception, Martyn Bould’s house Friday 2 December: Gimistory Duppy Night, Smith’s Barcadere
Saturday 3 December: Christmas of Yesteryear, Miss Lassie’s House
Friday 16 December: Christmas Community Concert, Heroes Square Sunday 18 December: Christmas performance, Harquail Theatre

All performances are free to attend except for the Christmas Performance at the Harquail Theatre. Tickets for concerts can be purchased from the Cayman Islands National Dance Company and the CNCF Office.

The Cayman Islands Folk Singers is supported by the Cayman National Cultural Foundation as one of their core programmes to stimulate, facilitate and preserve cultural and artistic expression in the Cayman Islands.

Cayman National Cultural Foundation CEO Natalie Urquhart said, “This series of concerts is designed to help make Cayman folk music accessible to an even broader audience as we partner with other cultural organisations on events and productions. The Cayman Islands Folk Singers are participating in districts as part of the Gimistory Storytelling Festival, events honoring Older Person’s month, and the Christmas concert at Heroes Square is conjunction with Cayman Islands National Dance Company.”

For more information about CNCF and its programmes, email [email protected] or call 949-5477.

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The Cayman National Cultural Foundation

For more than 30 years, the non-profit Cayman National Cultural Foundation has carried out its mission of stimulating, facilitating and preserving Caymanian cultural and artistic expression. CNCF has achieved this through the extensive development of wide-ranging programmes. These programmes include stage productions, creative education for young people, free workshops and financial support of artists, as well as festivals, publications, national recognition of artistic and cultural achievement and the preservation of Caymanian heritage, and arts and culture for future generations.