The Government of Anguilla is seeking corporate sponsors to help cover the EC$160,000 shortfall for this year’s Anguilla Summer Festival.
The cost of the festivities, scheduled for 25 July to 10 August, is expected to exceed the EC$1.5 million allocated in the budget, according to culture minister Shellya Rogers-Webster.
During a government press conference on 21 July, she stated that the budget is “never adequate enough”.
“Persons who are involved in production and producing a summer festival event – if you know anything about artist fees and just overall planning production cost – it’s extremely expensive,” she said.
“However, our vision for the summer festival is not just from a cultural perspective, it’s also from an economic perspective. You have to be able to spend to gain money.”
She said that local businesses, such as car rental companies and hotels, have traditionally benefited from increased activity during the festival period.
“We have money circulating in the economy. People are making money. Restaurants are selling. There’s just a buzz on island,” she said.
The minister described it as “a huge economic time period for our people” and stressed that it is very important for the government to be actively investing.
She said that next year she hopes to lobby the finance ministry to move the budget for the festival closer to the $2 million mark, but in the meantime welcomes corporate sponsors.
“The corporate sponsors are critical to the Anguilla Summer Festival – without them, we could not do it,” she said.
Rogers-Webster said many of the key sponsors who previously supported the festival have returned this year, but a shortfall of EC$160,000 remains.
“If there are any corporate sponsors out there who desire to step in and to give us the support that we need, we still need those funds to help to make this an exceptional summer festival,” she said.
“Please reach out and see how we can we can collaborate.”
More information on the Anguilla Summer Festival can be found on its website here.
The festival schedule is below. Times and some of the locations are still to be announced:
