Celebrating 70 Years of Culture! Rena’s Festiville officially opens

The 70th Emancipation Festival officially kicked off on Monday, July 29, with a torch-lighting procession that began at Noel Lloyd Positive Action Movement Park and ended at the festival grounds in Road Town, where the opening ceremony was held.

The procession saw members of the BVI community, including elected representatives such as First District Representative Dr Karl Dawson, Luce Hodge-Smith, and Deputy Premier Lorna Smith.

Some of the festival’s newly crowned monarchs were also present for the procession, which was led by the fungi band Zion Sounds. The community paraded to one of the local tunes, “70 years of culture, 70 years of fun.”

The traditional torch-light procession has been a significant part of the territory’s festival since it initially began in 1935, and it continues more than 100 years later.

The opening ceremony began shortly after with words from Hodge-Smith before she honoured Jost Van Dyke native Larina Jacobs-Lamothe — affectionately known as Rena — for the 70th Emancipation Festival—Rena’s Festiville.