March 28, 2006 – The 2006 University of the Virgin Islands Humanities Festival is scheduled for the week of April 1-8. The theme is "Caribbean Creole Language and Culture." This is the fourth annual showcase for humanities and cultural events with a Caribbean theme. Most events are based on St. Croix this year, and some are being video-conferenced to St. Thomas. The festival is free and the public is invited.
The kick-off event, held Sunday night, April 1, will be a Caribbean cultural extravaganza, featuring a Spanish flamenco dance group, Filipino singing, poetry and drumming representing the rhythms of the Dominican Republic, dancing from Dominica, belly dancing, the St. Croix Heritage Dancers, the group Music in Motion and more.
A documentary film in progress on Quelbe music in the V.I., focusing on the group Jamesie and the All-Stars, will be shown Monday night, April 2. The filmmaker, Andrea Leland, and James "Jamesie" Brewster will be on hand to discuss the project and the history of Quelbe.
A panel discussion on Creole languages is scheduled for Tuesday evening, April 4. It features Nicholas Faraclas of the University of Puerto Rico, and Arnold Highfield and Vincent Cooper, both professors at UVI.
Trinidadian novelist Elizabeth Nunez will do a reading and book signing on Wednesday, April 6. This event will also feature award winners of the festival short story and poetry contests.
The Humanities Festival keynote speech is by John Rickford, a Stanford University linguist. His talk, "Use of Creole in the Literature and Orature of Caribbean Poets and Ordinary People," is scheduled for Friday afternoon, April 7. The speech is part of the Student Literary Conference.
For more information on the festival, contact David Gould, 692-4143, or go to the St. Croix Source calendar.
