Soufriere Creole Jazz is on the lips of just about any and everyone who plan on soaking in some of what is on offer this year for the 24 edition of the Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival which kicks off on April 30. And organizers the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation wants to keep the buzz going right until the final curtain of the May 1 event. It is for this reason that the organizers hosted a major sponsors and media event on Saturday April 25 at Anse Chastanet’s Anse Mamin beach location in Soufriere.
Invited guest on Saturday travelled from Castries to Soufriere via sea ferry, perchance to entice as to one of the options to get to Friday’s Soufriere Creole Jazz. Once in Soufriere, they were joined by representatives of the Foundation including the CEO Walter Francois and Soufriere/Fond St. Jacques MP Harold Dalsan, among others before the final stop at Anse Mamin.
On what was a hot afternoon, the inviting venue was beautifully set up, providing a breathtaking ambience- “a sign of what is to come on Friday” – the press was told.
Speaking Saturday, Dominic Alexander projects and operations manager of the SRDF told of the journey and significance of the venue with its ancestral ruins and burial ground and now about to evoke the rhythms of joy and togetherness come May 1. The Parliamentary representative spoke of his pride as a son of Soufriere soil and the fact that the town had proven that it had the capacity of putting on a world class event.
Walter Francois expressed his gratitude at the old sponsors who had stuck with the event as well as new ones “despite the economic challenges.” Expressing much enthusiasm about this year’s performers he then went on to reiterate the line-up.
Soufriere Creole Jazz 2015 will feature great Saint Lucian talent including saxophonist Barbra Cadet, Avot Servis a traditional group, the band Future Lights of Soufriere and Soca sensation Teddyson John. The event will also feature The Original Bouyon Pioneers (founding members of the band WCK of Dominica) and international Reggae performer Jah Cure of Jamaica. The event will be held at the Soufriere mini stadium. Show time is 4 PM.
John Emmanuel public relations manager of the Saint Lucia Tourist Board public acknowledged the SLTB’s endorsement of the event, adding that Soufriere Creole Jazz affords the board another great event to add to the list when marketing the festival as a whole.
Representatives from a number of sponsors including Digicel, Saint Lucia Distillers, ECFH, LUCELEC and Heineken were also present on Saturday, as well as some of the local performers. One of them Teddyson John, expressed appreciation to the SRDF and promised to bring a potpourri of “Earth, Wind and Soca” to the event.
Last year, Soufriere Creole Jazz blew the lid off the festival and is expected to top that magic with one the best tickets in town for the 2015 Saint Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival. Soufriere Creole Jazz has been about more than just music. It has grown into a culinary experience, blending the town’s heritage tourism product with the exhilarating Caribbean rhythms under the iconic Pitons. That and a whole lot more is an ideal recipe for yet another successful Soufriere Creole Jazz on Friday May 1, 2015.
