Taste and drink the islands at Caribbean Village Festival
The fifth annual Caribbean Village Festival is elevating the food and entertainment in its move from Lauderhill to Miramar Regional Park Amphitheater on June 23.
“We went to Miramar because the city endorsed the event and saw the vision of getting people to come from all over the world,” says organizer Lindell Douglas, a Jamaican native. “They have a more secure location with parking and an amphitheater that is covered. It gets real hot during the summer. Also, it’s closer to Miami, so it’s a lot more centrally located.”
Douglas is president of The Galleon Foundation, a nonprofit that benefits from the festival and provides student scholarships and mentoring programs in South Florida. Last year, the event raised $35,000 for the foundation through 6,000 attendees, he says.
“We’ve decided to do a tasting village with samples of tapas-style dishes from 15 Caribbean islands, along with 15 Caribbean beers and a couple of rum samples,” Douglas says. “It’s the first year we’re including this in an all-inclusive admission price. A lot of people were asking how to get a true Caribbean experience, so we decided to add this because of the requests.”
Specialties will include pepperpot soup from Grenada, oxtail stew from Jamaica and green curry shrimp from Saint Lucia, accompanied by cooking demos and competitions.
Six musical acts, such as Alison Hinds from Barbados and Shenseea from Jamaica, will draw fans from as far away as Europe and Japan.
“A lot of the performers are internationally known. We’ve cut out local acts to give more time to headliners,” Douglas says. “The concerts are the most expensive part of the budget to fly everyone in, pay them and put them in a hotel. We had a low budget the first year, and local artists performed for free. The event has really matured into what it is today. Every year we’re going broaden it. People love Caribbean food, culture and music.”
The higher musical caliber is the reason ticket prices will cost $40 for general admission, $140 for an all-inclusive pass that includes the tasting village, $399 for VIP and free for children younger than 13.
“For VIP, we give private servers, an exclusive lounge, separate entrance, all the food and drinks, and backstage access to meet their favorite musician for a photo,” Douglas says.
The festival will take place 1-10 p.m. June 23 at 16801 Miramar Parkway. Buy tickets at Caribbean Village.net.