After a two-year hiatus, Dominica has staged a successful World Creole Music Festival as part of the island’s 44th Independence celebrations. The festival hosted 23 artists, 11 of which were “local” or Dominican artists in the genres of CadenceLypso, Bouyon, Compas and Dancehall. Soca, Zouk, Reggae, and Afrobeat were performed by other regional and international performers.
According to a preliminary count and provisional data, there were 7,421 visitors who arrived over the normal WCMF period of Friday, October 21 to Saturday, October 29. This is a 5% increase in visitor arrivals over 2019. Visitor arrivals by air were 6% ahead of 2019 while visitor arrivals by sea showed a 4%
improvement over 2019.
Attendance for the festival in 2022 surpassed the attendance figures from 2019 as well. Preliminary reports from scanned tickets into the park total the attendance at 33,173, approximately 14% greater than 2019. Patrons had the option of general attendance, seating in the stands or patronizing the Coastal Village VIP.
A combination of increased ticket sales and an increase in ticket prices resulted in gate receipts which are 31% higher than 2019 gate receipts.
Over 200 media and influencers were accredited to cover the World Creole Music Festival. As such, Dominica has received coverage regionally from Trinidad and Tobago in the south to St. Kitts in the north.
Patrons generally enjoyed the performances with each having a favorite based on their preferences. The Minister of Tourism, Honourable Denise Charles stated that this year’s festival has been coined as the best Creole Festival by many patrons. The aim was to take the creole festival to a new level in terms of the variety of bar and food options, standard of entertainment, expanded grounds area, and the entire experience. Additional grounds area space was provided in anticipation of the expected crowds, a new elevated experience was introduced in the Rainforest Lounge; new genres of music formed part of the exciting line up; ten premium bars were added to the grounds in addition to picnic benches; and several young local artistes were given an opportunity on the international stage. The World Creole Music Festival is proving to be one of Dominica’s most attractive experiences as it highlights talent on an international stage as well as creates an atmosphere for unity and enjoyment in the Nature Island.
The dates were also launched for World Creole Music Festival 2023 from October 27-29, Mas Domnik, Dominica’s Carnival from January 14 – February 22; and for Dominica’s Jazz’n Creole on April 30, 2023.
Discover Dominica Authority (DDA) extends special gratitude to this year’s World Creole Music Festival sponsors which include presenting sponsor, the Government of Dominica; headline sponsor, Digicel; gold sponsor, Tropical Shipping, silver sponsor, Coulibri Ridge; bronze sponsors, RCI Guadeloupe, RCI Martinique, and premier banking partner – National Bank of Dominica; corporate sponsors, Tranquility Beach, Belfast Estate–Kubuli, Josephine Gabriel & Co. Ltd., DBS Radio, The Wave, Spektak TV/TRACE, L’Express des Iles, and PDV Caribe Dominica Ltd.; and business sponsors, Wandy’s & The Nook, Pirates Ltd., Carib, ABS Antigua, Hott 93/GEM Radio, Philipsburg Broadcasting, and Q95 (WICE FM). Special mention is made of partners CNC3, Trinidad Express, The Sun, The Chronicle, Kairi FM, DOWASCO, DOMLEC, and Multi-Solutions Inc.
For more information on Dominica’s World Creole Music Festival, contact the Dominica Festivals Committee at (767) 448-4833/255-8221, visit the official website www.DominicaFestivals.com, or follow Dominica Fests on Instagram and Facebook.
