Pre-Pirates Week heritage days kick off in East End

| 06/09/2022 | 55 Comments
Carmen Conolly displays her crafts in East End

(CNS): The latest experiment with the Cayman Islands’ annual Pirates Week festival kicks off next week with the first-ever series of pre-festival Heritage Days. The 12-week campaign focusing on Cayman’s culture and heritage begins next week on Friday, 16 September, in East End for a daylong celebration that will showcase what the district has to offer, including entertainment and food. It will be followed by more Heritage Days at two-week intervals.

“This is a new venture for my ministry,” said Culture Minister Bernie Bush. “The ministry team aimed to put together a Pirates Fest that honours our Caymanian culture and heritage while celebrating a crowd-favourite festival missed by many in the last few years. As well as supporting our tourism sector during the low season, most events will be free entry. We hope that families will appreciate the spread of the events, making participation more affordable, giving everyone further choice and the chance to experience more events than in the previous years.”

Officials said the family-friendly atmosphere will allow attendees to connect with and celebrate local culture and food, such as stew turtle, Cayman-style beef, oxtail, heavy cakes and ice-cold swanky, which will be on sale from local vendors.

The East End Heritage Day on Seaview Road starts at 10am and runs until midnight at the Heritage Field. It will be followed two weeks later with the Bodden Town District Heritage Day at Coe Wood Beach and the rest of the districts on Grand Cayman hosting their days at two-week intervals.

The main Pirates Fest begins on Little Cayman on 4 November, followed by nine days of pirate antics on Grand Cayman before the swashbuckling gang moves to Cayman Brac on 25 November for the final weekend celebration.


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Comments (55)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Looks like they missed an opportunity with the GT ‘day’ finishing at 5pm. There’s more customers/crowd available at 5pm than during the day.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I think they should call it “Bounder’s Week”.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Who or what is MYSCH?

    CNS: The Ministry of Youth, Sports, Culture & Heritage.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Why is the street party on Harbour Drive and not Cardinall Avenue?

  5. Anonymous says:

    How much does conch stew cost this year?

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Will there be beer?

  7. Anonymous says:

    cayman heritage in itself is a joke…and the idea that you would have different heritage days for tiny districts a few miles from each other is an even bigger joke.
    welcome to wonderland

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    • Anonymous says:

      Because of belief and comments like this a 16 year old Caymanian saying that ackee and salt fish is Cayman’s national dish.

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      • Orrie Merren says:

        Turtle stew is the national dish of the Cayman Islands.

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        • Anonymous says:

          I think the poster was being ironic. There is certainly difference in culture in the different districts – they don’t even make Cayman-style beef the same way in West Bay as they do in North Side – but the person who the original poster is obviously and expat who never cared to learn the differences. The predominance of that kind of mentality can make some people – including young Caymanians – think that Jamaican culture is actually Caymanian culture. Although I have to be honest – I love me some good ackee and salt fish for breakfast!

    • Anonymous says:

      Pardon me but that is where you are wrong. As close as the districts are to each other , if you were paying attention, you would know that each district has its own distinct characteristics and customs.
      So my dear the joke is on you!

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      • Anonymous says:

        Pay no mind – it is just an expat who thinks he knows everything because he never bothered to learn. My bet he is a lawyer from the UK – they seem to think they know everything all the time.

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  8. Anonymous says:

    What an adorable photo and in my eyes this is authentic Cayman culture that should be cherished. With all the craziness going on around the world time kind of stops with this “island time” adorable scene.

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  9. Orrie Merren says:

    Admittedly, East End Heritage Day, at least in past times, always has had great food.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Agreed! I tried both whelks and Cayman rabbit (agouti) for the first time at East End District Day back in the 80s! But East End Stew Conch was the best!

    • Anonymous says:

      It’s in the past. Jamaicans cooking now and food is horrible. Conch with Ginger and Turtle with Browning.

  10. Anonymous says:

    “Culture Minister Bernie Bush”. Four words we never thought we would ever see. Very nice picture of the delightful Miss Carmen, though. Makes up for all the other awful stuff…”swashbuckling gang”….in the article.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    When is the Miss Lassie art auction going to be held?

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    • Anonymous says:

      I’d pay money not to have to go to that.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Have you been to one of the recent exhibits of her works? I have and as a person who studied art at uni, I would have paid to see it (although it was free). Perhaps you should open your mind to art more instead of automatically dismissing anything that is uniquely Caymanian.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    Stupid

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    • Anonymous says:

      Why is it stupid to have some fun and celebrate our heritage? I understand the raunchiness of the parade can be a bit much, but the heritage days like these are quite nice! You learn a bit about Cayman’s history, and talk with senior citizens about the old days.

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      • Anonymous says:

        It’s not raunchy lol, it’s LARPing by any other word

      • Anonymous says:

        Anonymous@ 10:58 am apparently couldn’t sleep so he thought he would annoy someone. I suppose he can’t be bothered with the culture but probably the first one out ther pretending to be a pirate. Obviously he/ she lives in wonderland!

  13. Cheese Face says:

    Why would anyone go to Coral Beach? Do we get to throw the conch shells at the staff and pocket the profits? SMH…

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Why even call it Pirates anything? The local heritage and culture can be celebrated without pandering to wannabe pirates who have no clue or simply do not care how oppressive the real pirates were, so they can play dress up and get drunk for the social media fame.

    Celebrate Cayman Heritage!

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    • Anonymous says:

      8:43, Piracy is alive and well in Cayman; it never disappeared, just changed its appearance.

      You can see 19 of them sitting at the top of of Govt. Next you have the Developers, The Lodge, the local family Mafia businesses, the list is endless….

      You don’t have to have a sword, eye patch and parrot on your shoulder.

      Keep on ignoring it , complaining and do nothing about it though, just as long as they go Church on Sunday.

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    • Anonymous says:

      I am not against having fun and even dressing up in costume (I have on numerous occasions for costume parties and even Pirates Week years and years ago). Nor am I against celebrating a real part of Cayman’s history, even if it isn’t something for which we should be proud. But what I am against is the drunken driving, workplace absenteeism and adultery that has been a historical part of Pirates Week. Dressing up as pirates is one thing; acting like them is another

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  15. Anonymous says:

    This watered down event needs to go back to the way it was.

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  16. Forman says:

    How do you get First place in a stagnant race?

    I ask my son and hubby this all the time because they always sit around on weekends!

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  17. Anonymous says:

    Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends.

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  18. Really... says:

    Why on a Friday? People have to work. Make it a weekend event.

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  19. Anonymous says:

    Surplus done.

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  20. Anonymous says:

    Bernies’s moment to shine!

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  21. watcher says:

    Why is MYSCH sponsoring a happy hour?

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  22. Anonymous says:

    LOL

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