In spite of the fact that Dominica has already engaged a new academic year, I cannot forget one of the most memorable events that took place at the closure of the previous school year. On June 20, 2015, the Pioneer Preparatory School held an art exhibition presenting the work of its students, aged 4 to 12. The exhibition brought together teachers, students, parents, relatives and friends of the school, all of whom were simply the art friends of the young talents.
Personally, it was an exhilarating experience to see how children of Dominica view the world, and how this is reflected in their art work.
The first thing that caught my eye was the unique choice of bright and rich colours in all the art pieces. Retrospectively speaking, this is not really surprising as under the hot sun, there is simply no place for shades of grey. If one looks at the sea, he sees a mirror of brilliant blues; if he gazes at the mountains, he witnesses a lush green carpet.
Well, Festival fans, it’s that time of year again; 13th annual World Creole Music Festival (WCMF) has announced the lineup for this year’s festivities. With a solid stream of performances by international and local artists – running from October 30th to November 1st, 2009 at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium, there’s something there for just about every musical taste.
But wait, you say you don’t like creole or zouk music? There’s actually way more going on than just creole and zouk music. There’s a night with reggae vocalist MAXI Priest – who’s best known for singing Reggae music with an R&B influence and reggae giants Morgan Heritage known for their mellow, RB-influenced, vocals and Rastafarian lyrics.
Mind you, if you do like creole or Zouk music, there’s plenty of that to go around in all flavours from kompa, Meringues, Retro Soul, salsa, and tropical sounds. The list of artists is simply huge: Sweet Mickey, DLUX Mizik,Allan Cave backed up by ZIN, La Perfecta, Kassav,and Icons of Zouk.
Not to mention the number local Dominican bands preforming on each night of the festival. Bands like: Dominica’s #1 party band Swinging Stars, MFR, Caribbean Vibes, Triple Kay International, WCK, Michele Henderson, and Nature Boys Band.
World Creole Music Festival: 2009 Lineup
Friday 30th October 2009
Swinging Stars
La Perfecta
Kassav
Music For Real – MFR Band
Allan Cave backed up by ZIN
Saturday 31st October 2009
DLUX Mizik
Sweet Mickey
Morgan Heritage
Caribbean Vibes
TheIcons of Zouk
Triple Kay International
Sunday 1st November 2009
Maxi Priest
Cadence Icons
Michele Henderson
Nature Boys Band
Winward Caribbean Kulture – WCK
For a complete rundown of the biggest music festival nature island has to offer,
So how about you? What acts are you interested in seeing?
Editor’s note: This article was originally written by Alvan Heyliger, a small island voice on kittivisianlife.com
Let’s agree to disagree on the topic of musical artists in the Caribbean, and the stories they sing about sincere expressions of their experience and feelings or an avenue to further their careers and just a money making scheme?
Most people would say that artistes are inspired by their life stories, but are these life stories fact or fiction?
Many artistes often sing violence-inducing songs and then turn around and sing a song promoting peace and harmony. Why do they do this; why do they constantly contradict themselves? This shows there is no set purpose for their music.
In the world today people have become foolish; they promote songs that make no sense. There are some songs that contain only one word, so are these really songs? Others refer to them as art, which I might add is right; these cannot be real songs in my opinion.
People of the journalistic world and others who read this article, I leave it up to you to decipher what is really the purpose of the music. Is it for love and enjoyment of making music or for the love of money? You decide!
second edition offers practical information on the growing health and wellness holidays, weddings and yachting parties as well as extended coverage of the rich cultural heritage. There is also a new chapter on the highly popular Waitukubuli National Trail.
Review:"The absolute best travel guide to Dominica that I have ever read just recently appeared and it is a gem." - Domnitjen Magazine.
Photo credit:africasounds.com
