Can St. Martin Host CARIFESTA?

The curtains came down on CARIFESTA XV in Barbados last Sunday, August 31, 2025. It was a phenomenal experience, as most of those who attended continue to testify. Kudos to Barbados for organizing such a magnificent and an unforgettable gathering of the Caribbean family. It was the third time Barbados would host this grand arts festival. With over 2,500 delegates drawn from all over the Caribbean and with at least three African countries present, CARIFESTA XV in Barbados served an incredible and tantalizing menu of over 300 events spread over 10 days.

St. Martin was in the house and though our delegation was perhaps among the least numerous, it was nevertheless impactful as the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, Hon. Melissa Gumbs had predicted. And even before the dust had settled, the idea of the possibility of St. Martin hosting CARIFESTA in future had been floated by the same minister.

Can St. Martin realistically host CARIFESTA?

Before addressing this question, let’s keep in mind that apparently Jamaica has been designated as the next country to organize the festival. That should be two years from now, if everything goes according to plan. But herein lies the caveat: will Jamaica do it? Given that the party of Prime Minister Holden has been returned to power in the recent elections, there is no reason to doubt that Jamaica will be the next venue of CARIFESTA XVI in 2027. This means the earliest St. Martin might be able to host the festival will be in 2029. Can we do it??

My honest response to that would be, “YES, BUT…”

Yes, because St. Martin has a proven track record of hosting major events and conferences, the last being the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA) annual conference. Besides, if we were able to organize a highly successful SMAFESTAC in 1982, (43 years ago!) we can do it again.

What was SMAFESTAC, you may ask? It was the St. Martin Festival of Arts and Culture, held under the auspices of the St. Maarten Council on the Arts, presided over by the late Vance James Jr. I was the Director at the time and introduced the idea. It was patterned after FESTAC, the global 2nd Festival of Black and African Arts and Culture held in Nigeria in 1977. I was privileged to have worked in the International Secretariat of FESTAC in Lagos.

SMAFESTAC was a resounding success. It was there that the Ponum dance was revived under the mentorship of the legendary Tantan Nes. Another major achievement of the festival was the publication of the island’s first anthology of poetry, “Winds Above the Hills,”compiled and edited by Wycliffe Smith.

SMAFESTAC also featured an Arts and Crafts exhibition that brought together the island’s leading artists- Roland Richardson, Cynric Griffith and an emerging Ruby Bute as well as artisans and craftsmen and women from across the island and Saba and Statia.

An Antillean Jazz Encounter at the Peter Stuyvesant hall at Little Bay Hotel and a Film Festival sponsored by the well-known international actor, Calvin Lockhart (“Cotton comes to Harlem”) at Movies I & II were other highlights of SMAFESTAC which also drew participants from Anguilla, Aruba and Curaçao as part of the now defunct Netherlands Antilles.

I give this brief recap of SMAFESTAC to say that if we could have turned St. Martin into the cultural capital of the Netherlands Antilles and the Northeastern Caribbean for seven days 43 years ago, we can do it again in four years’ time with CARIFESTA.

Now, here comes the big BUT… Organizing such a huge cultural jamboree requires lots of resources, the

main one being financial. Those involved in organizing our annual carnival know this too well. Big events need deep pockets. However, with at least four years to plan, money shouldn’t be the reason why we can not host CARIFESTA.

It would however require disciplined financial planning, starting from our next budget.

Another obstacle we will face should St. Martin decide to take on the challenge of hosting CARIFESTA is our lack of adequate infrastructure. Of course, we’re talking of performing arts theatres, concert halls, museums and the like, where artists can stage their performances. Politicians have promised a modern performing arts center for the island for more than 20 years now, complete with architectural drawings, but to date nothing has happened.

Eight years after Hurricane Irma, we’re still waiting for the brand new Library/museum to replace the old library destroyed by the storm. This could offer a golden opportunity to include exhibition spaces for arts and at least a meeting hall where symposia and other literary events could be held.

The Joslyn Arnell Festival Village has hosted several international mega concerts and could still serve as the main venue for music shows at CARIFESTA. And weather permitting, there are a number of open air locations fit for activities such as a market place, etc. The Emilio Wilson Park, the Marigot Waterfront and the Boardwalk all come to mind. Besides, establishments like Aleeze also offer additional venues where some events could be held.

More importantly, should we be serious about hosting CARIFESTA, BOTH halves of the island MUST see it as a joint venture. In my humble view, we could even pull in Anguilla, to make it a three-part endeavor. It would instantly increase the number of venues available and reduce the financial burden for each island. This is, in fact, the formula FIFA is using for the World Cup Finals which will be co-hosted by three neighboring countries: the US, Canada and Mexico next year.

Finally, the festival should be seen as a Public-Private sector partnership, with the private sector being the main driver. An independent organizing committee would have to be set up with members with proven organizational skills put to serve on it.

Of course, there are several other logistical challenges to consider, including traffic and security, but the point is all of these come with the territory.

So, to the question, is St. Martin capable of organizing CARIFESTA, my answer again would be, YES, BUT… we have to hit the ground running right away.

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