Branching out? F&FC considering new ideas for future festivals
Chairman of the Virgin Islands Festivals and Fairs Committee, Dirk Walters has agreed with the sentiments reflected by Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley about hosting one central festival village in Road Town and then doing various cultural activities across Tortola for Emancipation celebrations going forward.
In an interview with JTV News, Walters said the committee has considered different options but the general consensus, for now, is that going forward, the festival village should be centralised in Road Town.
“They’re going to be varying opinions and I’m not sure exactly how long I’m going to be in this capacity or even on the committee so you never know what can transpire. I can only speak for now, for myself. So that’s my general feeling,” Walters said.
“I tend to agree with the Honourable Premier with that. That’s the way we should go forward, at least at this time for now, and we’ll see how it goes from there because you know, its fluid. It’s ever-changing. So, if we get to a point again, where we can revisit some things, of course, it’s never anything where ‘Oh, it’s set in stone and that can never be changed again’. You know, we weigh our options, the pros and cons and see if it’s feasible at any given time because you never know what can happen,” the chairman added.
Walters said the committee always tries to keep the community involved and is always asking and open to any feedback provided. He added there are various meetings with the different subcommittees and members of the public.
“We look at the different things, we will report on it and then we get the public feedback. And we do pay attention to everything with our policies, go on the blogs, people leave the comments. They would meet us on the street and I’m very approachable. I’m on the road, every day all over the place. I don’t hide from people. So, people meet me every single day. I say, well, you know, I like what you did with this. I like your approach, but you know, they give you constructive criticism,” Walters said.
“I take notes and I record it. And I take it to the executive committee and say, listen, we could look at doing this. So, we’re always open to different ideas and scenarios to see what we can do. We can’t make everyone 100% happy all the time. I don’t think we ever will. And I don’t think I’ll ever try. For the most part, we’re open to ideas and always ready to do things in a more feasible manner that will benefit the community and everyone,” he added.
“They’re going to be varying opinions and I’m not sure exactly how long I’m going to be in this capacity or even on the committee so you never know what can transpire. I can only speak for now, for myself. So that’s my general feeling,” Walters said.
“I tend to agree with the Honourable Premier with that. That’s the way we should go forward, at least at this time for now, and we’ll see how it goes from there because you know, its fluid. It’s ever-changing. So, if we get to a point again, where we can revisit some things, of course, it’s never anything where ‘Oh, it’s set in stone and that can never be changed again’. You know, we weigh our options, the pros and cons and see if it’s feasible at any given time because you never know what can happen,” the chairman added.
Walters said the committee always tries to keep the community involved and is always asking and open to any feedback provided. He added there are various meetings with the different subcommittees and members of the public.
“We look at the different things, we will report on it and then we get the public feedback. And we do pay attention to everything with our policies, go on the blogs, people leave the comments. They would meet us on the street and I’m very approachable. I’m on the road, every day all over the place. I don’t hide from people. So, people meet me every single day. I say, well, you know, I like what you did with this. I like your approach, but you know, they give you constructive criticism,” Walters said.
“I take notes and I record it. And I take it to the executive committee and say, listen, we could look at doing this. So, we’re always open to different ideas and scenarios to see what we can do. We can’t make everyone 100% happy all the time. I don’t think we ever will. And I don’t think I’ll ever try. For the most part, we’re open to ideas and always ready to do things in a more feasible manner that will benefit the community and everyone,” he added.
