At a press conference held on Friday, 8 July – opened quite dramatically by two pirates swordfighting – Minister for Youth, Culture, Sports and Heritage Bernie Bush announced that Pirates Week would not only be returning this year, but that it would also now be a festival running over three months, starting 3 Sept.
Bush was joined by Ventisha Conolly, his ministry’s events manager, and Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan, all of whom spoke of the reasons for the decision to expand the national celebration.
Bush stated that it would enable the islands’ culture, heritage and talent to really be showcased. In the past, each district got its day in the same week, perhaps restricting the number of people that could attend every one. Now, with the new schedule, each district day would be separated by a two-week break in between.
He said it would allow them to “show their very uniqueness”, adding that even just in the “18 miles from West Bay to East End, [we see how] different [each district] can be, in… speech, the way we cook the same dish, the way we make things… You go to Cayman Brac, it’s also another way that they do it.”
He also announced that many of the popular events from previous Pirates Weeks would be returning, such as the Pirates Landing, Pan in de City Steelpan Competition, Cardboard Boat Regatta and Float Parade.
The initial schedule for 2022 Pirates Fest was shared with the press, showing a starting date of 3 Sept. and an end date of 26 Nov. Bush also said that the Pirates Week 5K Run would be renamed the Jerry Harper 5K, in memory of Coach Harper who died on 24 Oct. 2021, and who had always helped with the event in the past.
Bush added that the Cayman Islands Cycling Association had approached his ministry about holding a race around the town so spectators could get a close-up view of the competitors, and that the Flowers family would be assisting with the half-mile sea swim.
The proceeds from the swim would go towards “the newly formed John Gray High School Swim Club”, Bush said. “It’s the first time we’ve had one of the schools like this… have a swim team, and we’re going to use [the funds] to help get them off the ground.”
Bryan said that his ministry was happy to support the expansion of Pirates Week, saying that “it provides lots of activities that can appeal to visitors and attract them to our shores”.
He also said that approximately 160 ‘pirates’ were confirmed to visit Cayman for the festivities, and that they were “working with partners in the United States and in our US offices to put together travel packages that we can offer to boost visitation in the slow period”.
“This type of visitation is important because it brings customers to local businesses, such as hotels, condos, restaurants, taxis, car rental agencies, and a host of other service providers on the island,” Bryan said. “The incremental demand for services provides those businesses with an injection of cash at a time when [they] might have otherwise been slow, seasonally.”
Conolly noted that one of the key focusses of this year’s Pirate Fest was to acknowledge the islands’ maritime history and heritage, with a plan to take a more educational approach.
“We want to tell the real stories behind the pirates that visited the Cayman Islands,” Conolly said. “We want to educate people on the differences between buccaneers, corsairs and pirates. This is an integral part of our history, and we want to recognise it.”
Bush said at the conference that the goal was to make all events free to attend, and that he hoped sponsors from previous years would step up once again and assist.
“Please come and work with us,” he said. “We have to have partnerships to make this a successful event and make it so that everyone will start to look forward to it again.”
For updates on the Pirates Fest schedule, visit the festival Facebook page or website.
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