Caribbean Arts and Crafts Festival, BVI

Artisans representing nearly 20 Caribbean islands will again converge in the British Virgins Islands (BVI) March 5 to 10 for the seventh annual Caribbean Arts and Crafts Festival. Instead of usual trivial trinkets and silly souvenirs, visitors can expect to find woven baskets, handmade furniture, carvings from tropical hardwoods, batik and silkscreen clothing, sculpted metals, hand fired pottery, and designer jewelry. The festival’s slogan for this year’s festival: “Craft-Culture working with Nature” is seen as a rallying cry for artisans and consumers to make the life style changes that the planet needs us to. This year’s event promotes the use of locally sourced natural and recycled materials for the production of practical and decorative arts and crafts.

Morne Gozo in Dry Season, Gallery of Caribbean Art, Barbados

The event is sponsored by the local chamber of commerce and the Caribbean Artisan Network, a nonprofitorganization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Caribbean arts and crafts. By creating links between artisans, the network functions to strengthen the production of traditional and innovative Caribbean crafts, through educational workshops, marketing initiatives and skill preservation efforts. The Artisan Network is dedicated to increasing the commercial viability of Craft as an income generator and as a crucial aspect of maintaining Caribbean cultural identity.

The five day festival begins at the beach in the east end of Tortola at Trellis Bay Village on March 5, moves to Spanish Town in Virgin Gorda March 9, and finally culminates in Tortola’s capital city, Road Town, at the Sir Olva Georges Park.

For more information, visit the Caribbean Arts & Crafts Festival official website.