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Barbados in New York – An Answered Prayer
It took some time, but the weeklong Barbados in New York event, (B-York), made the necessary splash.
The showcase, a joint effort by the Consulate General and Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., (BTMI), brought Barbadian cuisine and entertainment to the Barbadian and friends community in New York along with targeted events for tourism partners.
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Consul General Mackie Holder has been pushing for such a vehicle in New York since assuming duties in 2018. It was felt that New York, where most Barbadians live outside of Barbados, needed to be brought in line with other jurisdictions that were afforded, in some cases, very substantial events.
He said that while BTMI had undertaken successful events in New York over the years, he could not understand why there were no signature mass event, or series of events, that embraced the community while helping to cement the image of Barbados as the destination for all things.
Consulate led the connections with the community while BTMI provided the talent, marketing and giveaway paraphernalia. The week was one of the first major undertakings for the new BTMI team, back to full strength with three new additions, headed by Eusi Skeete.
The week of strategic celebrations got underway with a service at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City New York, which is developing links with the Anglican Church in Barbados.
There were two sessions for travel partners and the week included a Taste of Oistins, which drew a mammoth crowd on a Monday night, a community interaction at the Consulate, a young influencers’ party and a pop up wind down, in association with the Barbados Support Group, (BSG), featuring Peter Ram.
Logistical challenges worked against the planned concert, which will be a spectacular dimension next year. Still, the BTMI team, the various cuisine ambassadors – Chefs Javon Stoute, Creig Greenidge and Damian Leach, mixologist Phillip “Casanova” Antoine, Consulate staff and all associated set the stage for what, in the future, could be a New York calendar event.
