Death of Calabash

I have focused our attention on the need to develop alternative tourism models especially those that provide significant benefits to small communities.  That is why it saddened me to see that the annual Calabash Festival would be cancelled this year.

This is exactly the type of project that is needed in Jamaica.  It was relatively inexpensive to stage but it attracted a world class field in the area of poetry and literature.  It might not be an event that I would attend but it had its following and the residents of St. Elizabeth benefited from the holding of this festival.  What makes this occurrence especially sad is that no one has been forthcoming about why the event has been cancelled.

It is particularly distressing given the fact that last year the event almost did not happen due to lack of sponsorship.  Could it be that the organisers have encountered the same problem this year and have thus called off the event from now?  If this were the case then the public ought to have been told to see whether there were any other parties interested in sponsoring the event.  This Festival added to the diversity of the tourism product on offer. The Jamaica tourist board might have seen fit to sponsor an event of this type rather than spend so much on the Jazz and Blues festival which although it has a large attendance does not add significantly to tourism arrivals.  Calabash occurs in March nearer to the end of the winter tourist season and thus could be used to draw in visitors at a time when they are most needed.

It could be that people don’t see these events as being important because we place so little emphasis on reading but around the world there are many large events surrounding literature and poetry that draw thousands of visitors.  Many of these events had small beginnings like Calabash but have grown over years into major events.  One only has to see the huge crowds that J.K. Rowling attracts to understand the potential benefits.

It might be that the organisers could no longer get along with each other and have parted ways.  This too would be a tragedy as the concept could have been passed on to someone else who could have taken it over.  Often times the creators of festivals fail to recognise that although they started the event after a period of time the event belongs to the people who should have a say in whether it stays or go.  A part of putting on an event is the need for succession planning i.e. who will carry out the event when the original organisers are no longer able to do so.

It maybe that we will never find out what is the real cause but I will join in with others who mourn for an event that seeked to inspire us with quality rather than subjecting us to mindless noise.