This year’s Dominica Festival of Arts (DOMFESTA 2022) was officially launched on Friday, April 29. The month-long cultural celebrations will feature creative costume designing and Jazz n’ Creole activity. The creative costume design took place at the Enchanted Garden in Giraudel on Saturday, and the Jazz n’ Creole event took place at the Fort Shirley National Park in Portsmouth on Sunday.
The creative costume design was facilitated by the Dominica Arts and Craft Producers Association (DACPA) under the leadership of Vanessa Lisa Winston. The costumes designed with local materials will be showcased at the festival’s opening ceremony at the Giraudel Primary School and during the Giraudel-Eggleston Annual Flower Show/Market Fair on May 27. The last time the flower show held was in 2016.
Winston said participants used vetiveh grass, seeds, screwpine, banana leaf, coconut leaf, ropes, cardboard, and local fabric to design costumes and craft that will be showcased during the DOMFESTA 2022.
Today we have Vetiveh, we have screwpine, banana leaf, coconut leaf, we have seeds and other things and we’re going to use them along with fabric and other things like wires and we’re going to produce as many costumes as we can. We have members that made some hats, some are made from coconut and some they use cardboard and cloth to make the hats and they’re going to decorate the hats so that on that special day these costumes will be part of the parade.
Vanessa Lisa Winston
Attending the DOMFESTA 2022 launch were the Minister for Sports and Culture, Roselyn Paul, and Acting Chief Cultural Officer, Earlson Mathew.
For the Jazz n’ Creole show, CEO of Discover Dominica Authority (DDA), Colin Piper, said everything is set for a successful and hassle-free celebration. He said from a tourism perspective, various artistes from the region have been handpicked to take part in the festival. These include Freetown Collective from Trinidad and Tobago; Teddyson John from St. Lucia; JSJ Trio from Guadeloupe; Dominica’s award-winning singer and songwriter Michele Henderson; Dominica’s contemporary jazz band Breve; and Femme 4 comprising Marsha Laurent, Shalina Samuel, Marsha Augustine, and Tasha Peltier.
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