A Tru Tru Bahamian Experience

As expected, the Tru Tru Bahamian Festival delivered on a variety of Bahamian food, arts and craft, and entertainment as the John Watling’s Distillery came alive with authentic Bahamian culture.

Vendors said they received true benefits from the festival.

Denise Worrell of Naturally Bahamian was one of the many vendors who took advantage of the opportunity to showcase her goods.

“We wanted people to be aware of truly Bahamian things that are indigenous to our culture and so we have a variety of teas that we allow people to sample,” she said. “We are happy to be a part of this because there are so many things that pretend to be naturally Bahamian and this festival captures what is truly Bahamian. We have such a vast variety of talent and it is uplifting to be a part of this.”

United Kingdom visitors Grace Covedalle and John Noble enjoyed the event.

“We’ve been stopping at out-of-town locations and it’s been nice to see people are doing something authentic and using the materials in the country,” said Covedalle.

Kevin and Judy Jelinek of Milwaukee also said they enjoyed the festival. They found it interesting and enjoyed the art and craft on display as well as the music.

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism sponsored the February 11 event, which was a production of the Bahamas Hotel Tourism Association (BHTA).

Director General of Tourism Joy Jibrilu said everything added up to a wonderful event in the festival’s second year.

“Two years ago the BHTA came to me with the idea for Tru Tru Bahamian Festival and it made sense. For the first year, the Tru Tru Bahamian Festival had 700 participants. This year, the number has far exceeded that because people have come to an environment that is beautiful and that’s authentic Bahamian culture. Everything just adds up to a wonderful event,” she said.

“There are some partnerships that really work for the Ministry of Tourism and so an event like this where our artisans, cooks and musicians have an opportunity to display and sell their goods and the amount of visitors enjoying the festival speaks to how well it is growing and I hope it continues to align with our mission at the Ministry of Tourism.”

The date was originally scheduled for November 2016, but after Hurricane Matthew ravaged The Bahamas, organizers wanted to give everyone a chance to recoup.

Tru Tru Festival Chairman Carlton Francis said he was happy with the growth Tru Tru Bahamian Festival had.

“We have so many adults and children enjoying truly authentic games. I really like the growth and hopefully we will see the festival spill into the streets of Charlestown,” he said.

The Nassau Guardian
February 17, 2017