|
On Friday, 9 October 2020 Experience Cayman, the Cayman Islands’ first virtual festival, goes live. Hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure with support from the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce, the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, the Cayman Islands Small Business Association, the Cayman Islands Tourism Association and Celebrate Cayman, the free eight-week online festival features a line-up of some of the islands’ most passionate people showcasing the best things to do, see, eat and drink for residents in the Cayman Islands.
Supporting local is at the heart of the festival and members of the public can roam around the virtual festival grounds and find inspiration from the amazing performances, tutorials and speakers, all designed to help residents to rediscover, support and Experience Cayman. The activities, talks, and workshops have been put together by more than 50 inspirational local businessowners and entrepreneurs from across retail, food and beverage, music and culture, hospitality and wellness. Selita Ebanks, Dylan Benoit, Stuart Wilson and BoBo & Teedee are just a handful of names included in the line-up, as well as small to large local businesses including Teatime in Cayman Cayman, Cayman Spirits, Cost U Less and The Westin, Grand Cayman. The festival also features not-for-profit organisations, including the Cayman Maritime Heritage Foundation, the Cayman Islands Traditional Arts Council and the National Trust for the Cayman Islands.
The Ministry hopes that the digital festival will provide a sense of community, comradery and positivity that is very much needed after the events of 2020 to date and help support the many local businesses that are still struggling to recover in the wake of the island-wide lockdown and as international boarders continue to carefully reopen.
"Community and connection is more vital than ever,” says Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure Minister Hon. Joey Hew. “As a Ministry, we wanted to find a way to support local businesses while giving our people a unique way of experiencing the many ractivities and deals on offer, by the way of helpful classes, workshops, and talks put on for free online, to help people discover new small businesses and local artisans that they can support offline.”
Virtual arenas within the festival include a Heritage Corner hosted by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Cayman Kitchen hosted by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, Shopping Village hosted by the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce, The Campsite, Sand Garden hosted by the Cayman Islands Small Business Association, The Bandstand hosted by Celebrate Cayman, The Waterfront, Family Playground and Heritage Corner hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure. All participating vendors also feature in The Marketplace directory, making it even easier for residents to support them offline.
“There is plenty to do, watch, read and listen to for everyone, from music to meditation, cooking, storytelling, and craft workshops – and family-friendly activities for the whole household,” explains Colin Lumsden, the Ministry’s George Town Manager & Revitalization Initiative Coordinator. “We encourage you to take part in the virtual activities in the online festival, follow and engage with Experience Cayman on social media and, most importantly, shop, dine, experience and support Cayman Islands’ businesses to help propel their economic recovery.”
The festival runs from Friday, 9 October to Sunday, 13 December with more online experiences being added to the line-up for November and December. To explore the Experience Cayman virtual festival or to sign-up to participate in the festival’s November and December line-up, visit www.gov.ky/experiencecayman or follow Experience Cayman on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ExperienceCayman) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/experience_cayman/).
|