Pandemic trims pirate party
(CNS): Not even pirates have escaped the long arm of COVID-19. While this year’s Pirates Week Festival has not been completely lost at sea, the sails have been trimmed on the party. Officials said that the 43rd annual festival, entitled ‘Cay-munity’ sums up the Cayman Islands’ response to every challenge this year. The event kicks off on 31 October on Cayman Brac and 5 November on Grand Cayman, wrapping up on Little Cayman on 15 November
With pandemic-related restrictions on crowds, there will be no parades or street festivals but there will be a number smaller, stand-alone events spread out over the week.
“This year the Pirates Week Festival reflects the challenges we have faced as a community in 2020,” said Melanie McField, Chief Cultural Officer of the Cayman National Cultural Foundation, which now runs the event.
“In the spirit of our people working together and thriving in spite of adversity, we are delighted to be able to showcase these, albeit smaller, events to celebrate our resilience as a small nation. While some may be disappointed that our larger downtown events cannot be featured this year, we are certain that there is something for everyone within the schedule and even some exciting opportunities to find hidden pirate treasures,” she explained.
There will be more focus on the local community and some of the traditional events will be taking place with a new twist. With no float parade, districts will be competing in the District Heritage Ambassador Costume Competition. There will still be a trial of the pirates but in a new location, and a beach rather than a street dance, with the first ever Pirates Week Flotilla, led by the Pirates Week Festival Party Boat.
“Careful consideration has gone into the events this year and through the challenges that we have had to overcome, with them has come some bright, new creativity and exciting new events,” said McField. “Many of our events have had to be ticketed events in order to maintain control over our numbers, yet we are extremely fortunate to still be able to have a festival and we are looking forward to having an opportunity to celebrate together.”
For full details, including the events schedule, visit the website.
Category: Business, Community, Local News, Tourism
I can understand not doing the parade, and district days, as no one had the interest (nor direction) to properly prepare this year. And while we ‘know’ we’re COVID-safe we can’t ‘guarantee’ it so why take the risk, especially as the main target audience (tourists) are not targetable right now.
But I am sad to see them not do at least one fireworks show. While those attract a lot of people its mostly people in their ‘bubbles’, i.e., not as shoulder-to-shoulder as parades and street dances. One fireworks show could have been done in GT.
Or better, a series of smaller ones in each district. Scaled back, localised, physical distancing, and a couple of district vendors or venues could have done a little bit of extra business. It could have worked while ‘honouring’ the goal of Pirates Week, generating tourism revenue (local spending in this case). – And there may still be time if they move fast.
Pirates Week’s biggest problem is becoming its lack of identity and rationale. It was created to bring in tourists during slow season. It relied heavily on community involvement. (District committees and other groups building floats and doing all the things that made district days attractive to attendees.) But as our communities became more divorced from tourism as a lifeblood the community involvement has decreased. The idea of ‘cultural week’ hasn’t caught on (or been sold) as well as Pirates Week did in its time. This year with a real ‘slow season’ would have been a good opportunity to attempt a refinement of Pirates Week for the current need. How do we get people out to spend local money at local venues/vendors (including people who are one-off vendors, setting up a food or drink stall just for the event)? Smaller, yes. Social/Health responsible, yes. Pirates at the Library, no. (Check the GC events list/calendar, now on their website as linked to at the end of the article.)
Pirates week as a national festival has lost its way. The on
Y reason these side shows are being put on is so as not to lose the budgeted amount. We are in a serious time, which should be used to reflect on how to get out of this economic crisis,. Pirates week cabal should encourage the Private sector to do what they do best encouraging their patrons to come visit them. They are professionals they can handle it amiss the current environment. The delartment that runs pirates week needs to be redeployed to needed causes rather than play playing with our money. There will be time enough for a private public effort towards an organized, profitable National Festival.
Pirates Week costs us an arm and a leg, how fitting. Aaarrrrrr
don’t bring common sense into this discussion!
won’t someone please think of the children!!!!
instead of talking about pirates week or covid-19, why nobody is talking about mr McKeeva Bush ?
it’s not the topic of the week ?
shame, nothing changes in this beautiful bubble 🤯🥳🤐😷🤭
this part of your culture is terrible, I hope you can forget about it very soon
will only forget if i drink enough rum!
9:32 And your cultured culture does not drink and have even more serious crime huh what hypocrisy.
This is not part of culture my friend!
It’s simply one more imported piece of garbage….
Skip this year and let’s revamp it for next year. No reason a public committee couldn’t be used. All volunteers of course.
It’s a waste of time anyway, no parking infrastructure for the town, too many people, too hot and fundamentally – it’s sh!t. Warm beer and stupidly loud music, where’s the attraction in that?
Yet many people do manage to find parking and enjoy the festivities. Is it really a bad event, or a bad mind?
Note: Ways that things can be improved is not proof of a bad event.
Just what we need on Cayman Brac – another event that is just an excuse for people to be running up and down partying. I pray for the young men – as it seems that these type of events always end up with one of the totalling their car or someone elses.
Listen if your not involved with it just keep your negative comments to urself!
Be happy that we actually have something to look forward to, not often we braccas do so go sit in ur rocking chair under a old tree.
Treat the problem, then. People seem to find lots of ways to crash their cars even without a ‘special’ event.
Cayman, it’s time to close the curtains on this bizarre event.
Let’s blame it on the virus if no group wishes to take responsibility for doing so.
Amen to that!
Pirates week, since covid-19 I’ve been living a pirates life.
Its haaard but someone has to do it.
Pirates lived through worse conditions than this shmovid crud…just say’n
Well named, but our moronic leaders need to be made to walk the plank in short order come election time. The public vote warrants a full scale mutiny against this decrepit excuse for good governance we are currently mired in.
PIRATES WEEK HAS BEEN DEAD FOR YEARS LET US JUST CALL IT QUITS AND BURY IT NOW Death Certificate;;;Death By Covid-19 Government this money could be better spent if you don’t have use for it I got lots of needy people I could help out
Sad to say you are correct. It used to be packed and so much fun. But this is why they need to bring in new people to revive it.
Pirates Week is dead because the current committee showed no initiative or imagination. Last years there was what for every 2 floats there was a jeep filled with someone wearing a sash with a corporate name on it? Why? WTF does that have to do with Pirates Week. It’s becoming a big advert and a boring one at that and don’t get me started on the flat beds piled with speakers. I love a good loud concert but DJ’s and wannabe DJ’s in Cayman believe loud = good to the point the music is unbearable. And there’s no presentation, just speakers, the DJ and the “crew”. Big whoop.
Once thing I noticed is, in another thing that was Caymanian, the foreigners took more interest in wearing costumes and make up than the people involved. Pirates Week could be so much more than it is, than it was. It was something uniquely ours but like everything else Caymanian, it’s slowly being killed by us, and you mean to tell me that modern yacht they used last year was the they could come up with? When did it change to Corporate Pirates of the Caribbean? I understand the Valhalla and the Queen Anne couldn’t be used but you mean to tell me there wasn’t ANY ships ANYWHERE that could be used/rented/persuaded to come here to be used?
Like I said. Lack of initiative and imagination. If last year represents what it will now always be then yes put it rest with dignity instead of the shameful existence it now endures. I took my camera to the parade last year to record it for my university friends and I had to lie to them and told them my camera malfunctioned because I was ashamed to show the parade and the POS it has become.
Lol All you that say it’s dead just haven’t been going! The road is packed for the parade just like always. And I would reckon that the majority of the people in attendance are locals living here.
It would have been interesting to see how poplar a parade would have been.
I’d even wager that those that said it was dead might even come out since it wouldn’t be quite so crowded.
Either way, if you think it’s dead that means you weren’t there. I have attended loyally for 30 years and the parade and Landing ALWAYS draws the crowds.
But we’ve been having large scale events, why can’t we have a parade? If the virus was still here it most definitely would have been spreading again in the community by now.
I wonder when they are gong to let us know what they are planning. When no one shows up dont wonder why.
You dingdong, the website is linked at the bottom of the article.