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Contact:
John Emmanuel
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Device presents $27 Thousand sponsorship Cheque to
Labowi Promotions |
Monday, March 01, 2004 - Main organizer for the St. Lucia Jazz
Festival, the St. Lucia Tourist Board, has once again thrown its support behind
and has fully endorsed this year’s Jazz in the South activity. At a press launch
on Friday, February 27th, 2004 at the Auberge Seraphine, Tourism Director Hilary
Modeste noted that since the inception of Jazz in the South in 1997, the event
has grown by leaps and bounds.
One of the major advantages he sighted was the ability of main organizer, the
Laborie-based Labowi Promotions to engender increased community involvement,
while exposing more and more St. Lucian artistes to growing crowds of local and
foreign music enthusiasts. “The relationship with Labowi Promotions has been a
really trusting one, as year after year they continue to take on new
responsibility. This year is no exception and this allows the Tourist Board the
opportunity to divest itself from being a central planner of the event. At the
same time however, it still affords us the opportunity, because we are overall
involved in the event, to have some influence on maintaining the quality of the
event,” said Mr. Modeste.
The Tourist Board official said that Jazz in the south had taken on its own
special uniqueness by featuring a mixed of Afro-Caribbean rhythms, involving
performers from countries like Martinique, Dominica, Haiti, and Brazil, to name
a few. Tourism Minister, Hon. Phillip J. Pierre expressed the view that the
development of Jazz in the south, was in line with government’s vision for the
overall festival. He said, “I want to implore the people of St. Lucia to
continue to try to derive the maximum benefits that can be had from St. Lucia
Jazz”. The festival provides what he described as a captive audience, with over
10,000 persons visiting the island annually for the festival. “I have said this
over again almost to the point of sounding repetitive, however I think it’s
important and will therefore, say it again. We have to find ways to cause these
people not only to return to St. Lucia, but to leave money in St. Lucia,” said
Minister Pierre. Local musicians, he pointed out should continue to use the
exposure that the festival can provide to develop and perfect their craft.
Gramacks band member says he’s delighted to perform at
Jazz in the South |
Jazz in the south runs from May 9th – May 12th and will be staged at
Balenbouche, Soufriere, Laborie and Vieux-Fort. Yves Renard of Labowi Promotions
informed that performances would come from Garmacks New Generation, a Dominican
group based in France; Djo Dezormo out of Martinique; Nachito Herrera and Puro
Cubano, a Cuban group based in Minneapolis, USA; Neil Franklyn and Friends;
Matrix; Speed; and Barbara Cadet and Friends, among others.
Several sponsors have come on board for the event, with main sponsor being
Digicel St. Lucia, who presented a cheque totalling $27,000 towards the staging
of the event. The other gold sponsor and long time partner of Jazz in the South
is the Bank of St. Lucia.
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