The Ministry of Education and Culture through the Department of Culture will observe its annual Virgin Islands Culture Week under the theme, “Remembering the Legends of Virgin Islands Music: Our Treasures.”

A full week of community and school-based activities are planned to stimulate and encourage the transmission of Virgin Islands culture and focus on events and circumstances in history which made the Territory what it is today.

Director of the Department of Culture, Mrs. Luce Hodge-Smith said, “Our Virgin Islands culture evolved from our Virgin Islands history. It is our way of life and helps us identify who we are as a people.”

Mrs. Hodge-Smith said Culture Week, first observed in October 1994, is important in the preservation of the culture and history of the Territory and allows Virgin Islanders to pass on the relevant information to the younger generations. She added that it also creates opportunities to link the various aspects of our Virgin Islands culture through selected themes for the week.

Activities during the week will include the schools’ cultural events and the department’s Cultural Food Fair, press conference to launch the Memory of the World Committee, Territorial Dress-up Day and the opening of Virgin Gorda’s Musical Legacy Exhibition.

School and community activities will focus primarily on highlighting Virgin Islands’ musical traditions as well as highlighting music legends of the Virgin Islands.

In addition to highlighting various musicians throughout the Territory, the department will showcase artistes who have made it on the world stage by way of a documentary. Musicians will include Dawn Penn, Jon Lucien, Emile ‘Milo’ Francis, Mark Christopher, Eugenie Faulkner, Gracita Faulkner, Vernon Pickering, Nick ‘Daddy’ Friday, Elvino ‘Sifu’ George, Keidran ‘Iyaz’ Jones and Robert Eddie Francis.

An outfit-of-the-day (#OOTD) social media challenge with the theme “Inspire in your Territorial Attire” will also be introduced. This challenge seeks to encourage a greater participation of persons wearing the Virgin Islands Territorial fabric on the Territorial Dress-up Day on Friday, November 20.

Persons desirous of entering the competition are to capture and post their photos dressed or accessorised in the Territorial fabric on the Territorial Dress-up Day and use the hashtags #VITerritorialWear and #VICultureWeek and tag the Government of the Virgin Islands on Facebook. A prize will be given to the winner of the competition who acquires the most votes for the most creative Territorial attire on Friday, November 27.

For more information, persons should contact the Department of Culture at 468-4373.