MORE ENTHUSIASTIC VISITORS TO ST. VINCENT

On March 4th, four Canadians who live in Calgary Alberta docked their 60 foot yacht at Cumberland Bay. The home port of the French build yacht is Vancouver, British Columbia (on Canada’s Pacific coast). Owners Don and Fiona Horton, who live in Calgary Alberta where the winter temperature routinely falls to the sub zero range have been cruising the Caribbean from January to May for the past seven years. On this occasion, two friends from Calgary were vacationing with them.

Only one of the travelers had been to St. Vincent and the Grenadines previously. Surprised that we had no docking facilities on our Windward coast, they sailed into Cumberland Bay where they lunched at Beni’s Bar. Over lunch, They shared with The Vincentian their enthusiasm for our island, its beauty and its friendly people.

After anchoring they went for a long walk stopping at a local school. The principal welcomed them into the school and introduced them to the students. These young Vincentians talked openly and asked, as well as answered many questions. They left with wonderful feelings and a photograph of themselves and the class to share with friends back in Canada and to remind them of fond memories in the years ahead. They also promised to send copies of the picture back to the students.

This is just one more example of how the citizens of St. Vincent and the Grenadines are giving great support to our Ministry of Tourism. No tourist wants to go where they feel unwanted or unsafe. In St. Vincent they feel both welcomed and very safe.

SIGNS OF TRAGEDY

It’s a tragedy when fatal motor vehicle accidents occur. It’s a tragedy when people are injured and sometimes permanently disabled in an accident. It’s even a tragedy when a motor vehicle, often obtained at great cost, is damaged or totally destroyed.

When driving almost anywhere on the island these days, it is rare to not see strange markings on the road; geometrical shapes drawn in chalk that could resemble ancient symbols or at least some form of graffiti message. These markings are police markings; “Signs of Tragedy” identifying the location and point of impact of a recent motor vehicle accident.

When the police are called to an accident scene, they mark the position of the wheels of the vehicle(s) and the point of impact, so the road can be cleared as quickly as possible allowing the flow of traffic to resume.

What happens after an accident makes sense; what happens in the moments leading up to a crash does not. When we as defensive drivers see a car overtaking or approaching at a high rate of speed, especially on a hill or a curve, we react defensively thinking, “There is an accident looking for a place to happen.” The reality is: most accidents are avoidable.

The cost of a motor vehicle accident is huge, to the owners of the motor vehicles, to anyone killed or injured and to society. The good news about our tremendously improved highways is the pleasure we all enjoy not having to navigate crumbling roads and pot holes. The bad news is that portions of these roads have become speedways, with many drivers accelerating far beyond their capacity. Higher priced, more powerful automobiles create higher cost accidents which in turn will drive insurance rates beyond the reach of many drivers.

The Vincentian recently interviewed several police officers, including an inspector. All agreed that a large percentage of their duty time was spent either attending accident scenes or in writing up lengthy reports for subsequent court proceedings and insurance company needs. There was general agreement that they are seeing more accidents and the severity of these accidents is increasing.

It makes sense then, that rather than hand writing traffic reports, police officers could be focusing their efforts on our national crime prevention. Rather than going through the hassle and inconvenience of an accident investigation, increased insurance rates and the embarrassment of spoiling a perfect driving record, we could all better use our time becoming responsible, defensive drivers reducing the police drawn signs of tragedy on our roads.

ACCESS DENIED – RAWACOU SALT POND

For generations we have marveled at the beauty of Rawacou; its picturesque point and the surf crashing on its sand covered beaches. We have also grieved over the number of tragic drownings that have occurred at the Rawacou beach through the years.

Our government has posted signs on Rawacou grounds, warning of the dangers of unpredictable currents and undertow. The government should also be commended for developing a rock reef, creating a huge, safe soaking area for all to use with relative safety: All who are physically fit that is.

Unfortunately, access to the pool for the elderly and/or handicapped is all but denied. The approach to the pool is a reasonably easy walk, however balance , agility and water shoes are required to actually enter and exit the water. The addition of a simple hand rail and several steps cut from the level ground to the water’s edge at a relatively modest cost, would greatly facilitate access to and enjoyment of the pool.

We recently watched a man with a handicapped child on his back carefully entering the water. At the same time an elderly couple turned back in fear of slipping.

Our Ministry of Tourism is doing an excellent job of identifying and funding the development of locations of interest to tourists, such as the Owia Salt Pond, Dark Falls and until the most recent rock falls and high wind/water dock destruction, the Falls of Baleine. This is commendable and necessary as we develop our tourism infrastructure, but let us not overlook the interest of our seniors and less mobile and/or less affluent citizens who deserve courtesies at least equal to our visitors.

OUR CHILDREN AND THE ARTS

Mike, Maggie and Kerry Potter trainee with students

If you search Google for literature on “children and the arts”, you will get almost 20 million hits from every corner of the world. During a brief spot check of this enormous data base, we were unable to find one negative comment on the subject. Most echoed the words of Elliot W. Eisner Professor of Education and Art, Stanford University,

” The arts are fundamental resources through which the world is viewed, meaning is created, and the mind developed. To neglect the contribution of the arts in education, either through inadequate time, resources, or poorly trained teachers is to deny children access to one of the most stunning aspects of their culture and one of the most potent means for developing their minds.”

Education programs in St. Vincent and the Grenadines include numerous examples of efforts being made to introduce our students to various forms of art, including music, dance, drawing and painting. With the cooperation of local artists, performers and businesses, many students have taken advantage of creative art education initiatives.

Recently The Vincentian visited Spring Studios Pottery and Art Gallery on Bequia. It is a working pottery within the ruins of a picturesque old sugar factory at Spring. We interviewed internationally known Mike Goddard and Maggie Mitchell to learn that for the past two years they have been sponsoring at their own expense, a very popular program with children from Lower Bay.

The students who attend local schools are learning about the Arawak pottery tradition dating back 1500 years on the island. They are taught the fundamentals of the craft and experience hands-on pottery-making on a potter’s wheel in the workshop. The enthusiastic young students have been working closely with Vincentian trainee potter Kerry Timm, who, among other things, makes large decorative garden pots.

The Spring Studios Pottery and Art Gallery is located on the Spring Resort property in Bequia. It has attracted visitors from every corner of the world and will accept commission assignments and ship its products virtually anywhere. For almost a decade it has had an excellent relationship with the owners of the Spring Resort. Spring Resort has recently been acquired by Firefly Mustique Hotel and renamed Firefly Hotel Bequia. While formal arrangements have yet to be concluded with the principals of Firefly Hotels, Mike and Maggie are hopeful that similar arrangements will allow the studio to continue its operations, and respond positively to numerous inquiries from local schools as well as teachers and schools on St. Vincent.

Hillary Clinton said to the International Children’s Arts Foundation,

“I encourage you to continue to support programs that help children to discover their talents and believe in themselves “

We in St. Vincent & the Grenadines should do no less.

TOURISM ATTRACTIONS: ARE WE OVERLOOKING THE OBVIOUS?

Anyone who says that something can’t be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

Who would have dreamed that a white woman and an Afro-American male would be leading candidates for President of the United States? America’s Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama did, proving that if you have it in you to hope and to dream, you have it in you to succeed.

Who would have dreamed that a world-class tropical garden could be carved out of a remote Mespotamia mountainside in St. Vincent? Douglas Brisbane did and his work has been further developed by the indefatigable Timothy Vaughan. Today, Montreal Gardens has the potential to be a major tourist attraction. Last year we questioned the apparent oversight of our Government and Ministry of Tourism in not providing funding for access and media support to Montreal Gardens .

Who would have dreamed that St. Vincent & the Grenadines in 2002/03 would be the birthplace of a world-class media success that has become one of the greatest movies of all time. Disney did and supported by our Ministry of Culture, Pirates of the Caribbean – The Curse of the Black Pearl, filmed at Wallilabou, (which used many Vincentians as ‘Extras’ in the cast), was the first of a trilogy of movies that has been released around the world grossing almost $3 Billion US dollars during the past four years.

St. Vincent & the Grenadines association with Pirates of the Caribbean has become a Mecca for tourists. Any country would pay dearly to be able to market and capitalize on this association as part of its tourism attractions. Dr. Karl Eklund, who lives in St. Vincent eight months each year, has developed an outstanding website/blog on the history of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, as well as several thousand pictures of the many beautiful and interesting sites on the island. He told the Vincentian that the most frequently visited pictures are those of the Pirates film set.
Our Ministry of Tourism is doing an excellent job of marketing St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Over 200,000 cruise ship passengers visited our shores last year. The tourism television channel is an attractive and interesting travelogue of our country. The Ministry attends tourism and travel venues in Europe and North America and has an excellent opportunity to focus on these two national tourist sites.

Most will agree that the original Wallilabou movie site itself was worthy of a theme park. To be sure the structures were designed to be temporary, but they could have very easily been made permanent. The docks were ideally situated to accommodate visiting yachts and local tour boats. The restaurant was/is adequate to feed hundreds of visitors. The opportunities for the sale of local crafts are numerous.

Today, this location which has become known around the world, is a dilapidated, falling down shambles; a bare memory of the scenes familiar to so many people. It is a dangerous embarrassment to recommend as a tourist attraction.

The Wallilabou property is privately owned. It appears the current owners are either unaware of its potential as a tourist attraction or are unwilling to invest any money in refurbishing the site. Would it not make good economic sense for our government to support the designation of the site as a National Tourist Attraction, perhaps leasing the rights to repair the docking facilities and restore the actual ‘location’ to what it was three years ago. Partial cost recovery of funds could be realized by charging an admission fee, similar to other major attractions and theme parks around the world.

It should also be noted that the entrepreneurial Buccament Bay Resort project has plans to capitalize on the global popularity of the movie(s) and construct a replica hand-built solid wood ‘Black Pearl’ pirate ship to be moored offshore as a floating restaurant.

We should not let opportunities which have been virtually handed to us, slip away into fading memories of what might have been.

RETIRED TEACHERS OF ONTARIO VISIT ST. VINCENT

To paraphrase an old expression, retired teachers never die, they just keep on learning. They travel world-wide and this past week, a group of Canadian teacher retirees from the Kingston, Ontario Region have been visiting and learning about St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

Ontario has the largest population of all Canadian provinces. It is proud of its education system and through the years has had a close connection with St. Vincent & the Grenadines. There are currently 155,000 school teachers in Ontario and 55,000 retired teachers as well as many thousands of Vincentian immigrants whose children have benefitted from Ontario’s education system.

Retired Teachers of Ontario, Margaret and Meikle Turner

The Vincentian interviewed the Chair of the Travel Committee, Meikle Turner and his wife Margaret at the Paradise Beach Hotel. When asked why they chose St. Vincent & the Grenadines, they explained that they custom design their travel itineraries to meet the needs of their members. Influenced by positive recommendations and many years of visits by the Elder Hostel Association, they selected St. Vincent as a destination that would meet the safety, adventure, intellectual and post retirement needs of their members. Their visit has been an outstanding success.

The group arrived on Sunday January 20 and returned to their homes two weeks later, February 3. The group’s itinerary, with some modifications, was similar to the Elder Hostel Group tours. It was arranged by Joanne Gotsis of Odyssey Tours in Kingston, Ontario and Kim Halbich of Fantasea Tours in St. Vincent. There was lots of free sun, swim and personal time, plus opportunities to attend and participate in lectures on the history of St. Vincent. They enjoyed a tour of the Island of Bequia, trips to both the Windward and Leeward coasts of St. Vincent and a visit to Darkview Falls. They toured Erica’s pepper factory, attended an evening church folk service, had a flight to Union Island and a day sail to the Tobago keys; and back at the hotel, the Paradise Beach Hotel chef, Rhonda Arthur gave lessons in Vincentian cooking. This past Friday, when winter storm warnings with up to 30 cm of blowing snow, ice pellets and freezing rain were broadcast across Southern Ontario, they enjoyed the welcoming warmth and beauty of Montreal Gardens and on Saturday, they topped off their visit with a farewell barbecue at the hotel, complete with local entertainment.

Retired Teachers Never Die; They Just Keep on Learning
Stella Stefan, Rose Schultz, Chef Rhonda Arthur, Carol Williams

The Vincentian asked the Turners what impressions they thought the group would be taking home following their visit. Without hesitation they responded that apart from the beauty and interesting features and history of our island state, they were most impressed with, “The wonderful, friendly, helpful attitude of all the people they met on the island”.

They did say however, that they hoped our planned international airport would not change the unique culture and the natural beauty of St. Vincent & the Grenadines. They voiced concern that unless we took steps to preserve what we have, we run the risk of becoming just another “Cookie-cutter, North American Holiday Inn tourist destination.”

We must listen to the caveats left by visitors to our shore. This is the first visit for this group to St. Vincent and it received a very positive first impression. It will take back excellent recommendations to not only their friends and neighbours, but to a collective population of colleagues both active and retired that is more than double our own population. Our Ministry of Tourism can spend tens of thousands of dollars in promoting St. Vincent & the Grenadines, but nothing is as cost-effective or can compare to the personal recommendations of visitors who have had a positive vacation experience in our country.

SVG'S YOUNGEST AUTHOR LAUNCHES BOOK

ST. VINCENT’S YOUNGEST AUTHOR LAUNCHES FIRST BOOK
Ben Harrison

The new Paradise Beach Hotel in Villa celebrated its grand opening on Saturday evening, February 3, 2008. It was also the venue of an historic event; the launching of a book written and illustrated by St. Vincent & the Grenadine’s youngest author, and perhaps its youngest citizen ever to have an original work published.

My Homeland, was written by Storm Halbich, elder son of Kim and Earl Halbich. He is a grade 5 student at the Windsor Primary School. His artistic talent was evident when he was two years old and was constantly drawing and colouring pictures. He has been the winner of numerous creative competitions including, at age four, a poster competition sponsored by the St. Vincent Hotel & Tourism Association, a special award by the Florida/Caribbean Foods Association; and two years ago, the Venezuelan Embassy’s Christmas card design competition.

Through the years his interests have been influenced by his eco-conscious parents as well as his participation in the innovative “Floating Classroom” that is part of the Windsor Primary School’s curriculum.

The Saturday evening book launch was MC’d. by Chester Connell. The program began with a blessing by Pastor Smith. Kim Halbich gave welcoming remarks, a brief summary of her hotel renovation adventures, and her appreciation to the sizeable crowd who attended both the book launch and the opening of the hotel. She shared a brief history of the writing and publishing journey leading to the evening’s book launch. Two years ago when Storm’s drawings and notes were in their beginning stage, his mother suggested, “Let’s do a book. It will help tourists and visitors as well as our own people learn about our country and the environment”.

With a little persuasion and help, Storm agreed and the rest is history.

Through a sponsorship contribution towards publishing costs, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has made possible the distribution of copies of the book to all schools in St. Vincent. The book will be on sale locally for $15.00 EC.

Storm Halbich signing and dedicating copies of his book.

Canadian psychotherapist Dr. Sheila Pennington, herself an early childhood education specialist, author of two highly acclaimed books, and a member of IFAW, read her review of “My Homeland”:

MY HOMELAND

“Peace and love” is a greeting heard throughout the Caribbean. Storm Halbich has captured the essence of this phrase in his stunning portrayal of MY HOMELAND. His love, respect and understanding for the wisdom and beauty of nature is apparent on every colourful page.

He treasures wild life and marine mammals; he draws the whales showing their grace and joy in being alive. His colouring of the coral reefs, brilliant fish and endangered turtles make you long to join him snorkeling.

He has developed a surprising social conscience for his 9 years, and it shines throughout the book as he describes the friendly people of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, their culture, and his concern about litter and possible damage to reefs.

Storm has been creating pictures and drawings ever since he could hold a crayon. And now through his awareness and an amazing communication talent he is sending out a most important message for the world to hear:

“PROTECT AND CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT”