Legislative Push for Equal Festival Execution Across Islands Fails in Senate

A bill proposed by Senator Franklin Johnson aiming to bring parity to the execution of festivals across all three islands failed on Wednesday after a motion to bring the measure to a vote received no second in the Committee on Economic Development and Agriculture.

Through Bill 35-0232, staffing in the Division of Festivals would be modified to eliminate the position of assistant director in each island and replace them with directors, bringing the total number of directors to three. According to Sen. Johnson, the proposed change would have “[removed] redundant layers of bureaucracy” resulting in “a leaner more agile approach to festival management.” The draft legislation would have required each new director to reside on the island that they would ultimately serve, which the lawmaker believed would foster an “understand[ing of] the nuisance of their prospective island,” allowing the new directors to “better tailor festival programs to reflect and celebrate each community’s unique identity.”

In his quest to reform the Division of Festivals, Sen. Johnson received support of former senator Janelle Sarauw who during her tenure in the Legislature had collaborated with former senator Myron Jackson in crafting the original legislation on the subject. Former governor Kenneth Mapp signed the measure into law. However, the implementation of the “noble intentions” of the legislation has “fallen short of our expectations,” she lamented. Those intentions centered on empowering each island to showcase its “unique attributes” and “[synergize] efforts to promote and preserve our cultural legacy.” Ms. Sarauw complained that while carnival and festivals remain “a cornerstone of our cultural calendar, the full spectrum of our cultural diversity remains largely untapped.”