News

The Pirates Week Festival has put on its creative hat and come up with a ‘2020 version’ of the National Festival that we all know and love. The theme this year is ‘Cay-munity’ which ultimately sums up the Cayman Islands’ response to every challenge this year has presented. The festival will come in many guises, depending on which island you are on, with a one day event in Cayman Brac, on 31st October, events in Grand Cayman from 5th November – 11th November and celebrations in Little Cayman from 13th – 15th November. Existing restrictions regarding crowd numbers have resulted in the standard Pirates Week Festival model in Grand Cayman being reinvented to spotlight smaller, more manageable stand-alone events that are spread out over the course of a week. “This year the Pirates Week Festival reflects the challenges we have faced as a community in 2020. In the spirit of our people working together and thriving in spite of adversity, we are delighted to be able to showcase these, albeit smaller, events to celebrate our resilience as a small nation. While some may be disappointed that our larger downtown events cannot be featured this year, we are certain that there is something for everyone within the schedule and even some exciting opportunities to find hidden pirate treasures”, explains Melanie McField, Chief Cultural Officer, Cayman National Cultural Foundation. With a much keener focus on our local community, the festival will host some of its regular favourites such as the Happy Hour at Hard Rock Café and the Official Kick Off Party held at the Wharf, Trial of the Pyrates hosted by Sandbar, and The Underwater Treasure Hunt at Sunset House. South Sound beaches are on the ticket this year with the Pirates Against Plastic Beach Clean Up hosted by Plastic Free Cayman and Meals On Wheels will be receiving a helping hand with their deliveries from the Cayman Islands pirates. Families will be spoilt for choice with several events including the all new ‘Find the Booty’ Island-wide Scavenger Hunt, with a thrilling cash bounty of $4,000 as the winning prize. Pedro St. James will be hosting a ‘Movies on the Lawn’ evening and the pirates will be raiding the district libraries with stories for all apprentice pirates, ages eight or younger. Once again, each district will have the opportunity to celebrate the heritage and culture of these islands through the District Heritage Ambassador Costume Competition. This competition is open to all budding designers, who seek an opportunity to display some of their work while competing for, not only the bragging rights, but also the coveted cash prize of $1,000. Cash is also king at the National Song Contest and all local (Caymanians and Permanent Residents) singer/songwriters are encouraged to pen their compositions and submit their entries before the deadline of 30th October. Cash prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place. Partygoers will have plenty of opportunities to shake a leg at the Pandemonium Official Pirates Week “Beach” Dance, to be held at Coral Beach on Friday and this year we are introducing the first ever Pirates Week Flotilla, led by the Pirates Week Festival Party Boat, departing from GTYC and heading into North Sound/Rum Point on Sunday 8th November. “Careful consideration has gone into the events this year and through the challenges that we have had to overcome, with them has come some bright, new creativity and exciting new events, said McField. “Many of our events have had to be ticketed events in order to maintain control over our numbers, yet we are extremely fortunate to still be able to have a festival and we are looking forward to having an opportunity to celebrate together.” For full details on the festival and for more information please check out the Pirates Week Festival website and Facebook page. The full event schedule is available at www.piratesweekfestival.com and all tickets are available on eventpro.ky from Friday, October 16th .The Pirates Week Festival is currently in its 43rd year and is administered by the Cayman National Cultural Foundation.