The Cultural Association of Vincentians in the USA (CAVUSA) the cultural arm of the SVG Diaspora Committee of NY, hosted a simultaneous launch of Vincy Mas in NY on Saturday, May 5th, 2018.
The launch coincides with the official launch of carnival in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) sponsored by the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC).
Vincy Mas, the premier cultural festival in SVG which is dubbed the “hottest carnival in the Caribbean”, runs from June 29 to July 10, 2018.
The New York launch will took the form of a day-long festival dubbed “A Taste of Vincy Mas”.
The event had live performances by an individual pannists, calypsonians, soca artist and costume displays by masqueraders.
There were displays by promoters of activities for this year’s Vincy Mas.
Local Vincentian foods and drinks were available, along with displays from the SVG Tourism Office and Caribbean Airlines.
The Airline is the official carrier to Vincy Mas 2018. The event was free with food and drinks on sale.
The NY Launch of Vincy Mas was endorsed by the Carnival Development Corporation and the Ministry of Tourism Sports and Culture of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Patrons at the event had the opportunity to win carnival show packages and other prizes.
The event began at 10 am and concluded at 6 pm.
This new partnership with CDC came about when Ainsley Primus who had previously spare-headed the launch.
The support for Vincy Mas is a strategic developmental focus of the Diaspora Committee and CAVUSA who have proposed the hosting of a “Carnival as Economic Development” Forum for key stakeholders in the aftermath of the carnival. One of the early benefits identified by Williams has been “the coming together of promoters to work in unison to support Vincy Mas.”
