Three islands, three days of fungi

Children played and danced in the grass while adults bobbed their heads and swayed to the music on Saturday evening as fungi bands performed on the lawn of the Cyril B. Romney Tortola Pier Park.

It was the second night of the annual Fungi Fest, and the lineup included local groups like Zion Sounds, Lashing Dogs and the Razor Blades as well as other Caribbean bands such as Carriacou Culture Train String Band, Stanley and the 10 Sleepless Knights, and Took and the Boys.

The three-day festival celebrating the official music of the Virgin Islands was held over the weekend as part of Culture and Tourism Month.

It kicked off Friday at Foxy’s Outback in Jost Van Dyke in an event that organiser Alvera Maduro-Caines described as “awesome.”

Patrons, she said, filled the venue with as many as 400 people there at a time.

“People were enjoying themselves,” Ms. Maduro-Caines told the Beacon. “They were happy. It was really good.”

Road Town event

The next night, people appeared to be enjoying the music at the pier park in Road Town. In addition to musical performances, the Christmas tree was officially lit.

The final night was held on Sunday in Virgin Gorda at the Jeffery Caines Sports Arena.

Ms. Maduro-Caines said she was glad organisers were able to spread the event over three islands. The first year the festival was brought back after a 10-year hiatus, it was held only in Tortola, she said.

“The second year, there was a request made by the premier that we go to the other islands,” she said. “It was short notice last year, but we did it anyway. … We had a lot more time this year to prepare for the other islands.”

Next year, she hopes Anegada can be added to the roster as well, she said.

Culture

Ms. Maduro-Caines told the Beacon that the festival is about more than just having a good time.

“The biggest thing for me is to keep this kind of music in our culture — that our young people would look and learn and listen and have that drive to carry it on,” she said. “We don’t want this to die.”

She added that this notion extends to the sister islands.

“I’m just trying to expose them to the other islands and what they have to offer when it comes to fungi music,” she said.