Category Archives: Caribbean

ROCK ISLAND The smell of exotic seasonings and the sound of groovy reggae beats floated through the downtown Saturday night as Ya Maka My Weekend morphed The District into a Caribbean island paradise.

It marked the Caribbean cultural festival's 26th year.There were palm trees and sandboxes; shopping and mingling; a plethora of food and drink options from both from festival vendors and downtown establishments; laughing, dancing and singing.

Many were lured by the music including Alexis Wierenga, of LeClaire, who came for the first time Saturday. She was swaying and singing to Rude Punch, one of the many bands to take the stage.

"I really enjoy them," she said, nodding toward the stage, "and the food!"

She hadn't gotten to the food yet, she said, but the night was young.

"I like the music," she said. "I'm pretty pumped for the late-night show" with 40oz To Freedom.

She brought Ethan Fry from Marion, Iowa, with her, who said the fest was "pretty good."

"It smells great," Ms. Wierenga added. There was "great beer, relaxed environment, a lot of room to dance."

A number of acts were scheduled to take the stage throughout the evening, including Morten Wa Byaombe, Rude Punch and DiMachine.

Early in the evening a couple of hundred people gathered around the stage and near the food vendors, relaxing in lawn chairs, sitting on the raised stone areas around the stage and at the tables on the deck of the Daiquiri Factory, as more slowly trickled through the gates.

Nearby was an open-air marketplace packed with unique items such as tie-dyed clothing, sarongs, jewelry, incense and more. Folks waited in trailing lines near the food vendors as delicious scents wafted into the air in plumes of smoke.

Many come to the event each year for the Caribbean food, which downtownrockisland.org describes as a fusion of African, French, Indian, Spanish and other cuisines.

And it seemed to be worth the wait.

Samantha Stinson, of Galesburg, came Saturday for the music, the food, and "just how different it is." It's not like a typical fair, she said, as sheenjoyed a Jamaican beef patty and a daiquiri.

With her was her fiance, Mickey Gibbons, who was having a daiquiri before grabbing food.

"I'm amazed it's not bigger," he said, gesturing to the surrounding streets early in the evening. "It's a shame. The community wants to have a good time."

The couple was enjoying the atmosphere and the "peaceful" reggae music, Mr. Gibbons said, with friends Amber and Bryan Wilson, of Monmouth.

"My friend had been here before," Mrs. Wilson said, gesturing to Ms. Stinson, "and talked about the food so I wanted the food!"

She was noshing on curry goat. "It sounds odd, but it's really good," she said.

They had chosen a stand-up table about midway between the music and the market, a prime spot to enjoy the festival.

"It's awesome," she said. "It's just nice being out with a ton of people."

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The District becomes Caribbean island paradise - Quad-Cities Online

A scene from the movie, A Caribbean Dream, one of the Caribbean films to be screened at the 2017 trinidad+tobago film festival in September.

A strong line-up of critically acclaimed, award-winning Caribbean films will screen at this years trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff), to be held from September 19-26, at MovieTowne Port of Spain, San Fernando and Tobago, as well as at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus. The films from some of the Caribbeans finest filmmakers include, from the Dominican Republic, Jose Maria Cabrals Carpinteros (Woodpeckers), a high-octane, no-holds-barred movie about a forbidden relationship conducted through prison bars and across the 200 yards of empty space dividing the male and female prisons in Santo Domingo. Described by critics as a raw, intriguing and energetic blend of the tough and the tender, Carpinteros played at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, USA, to great acclaim. Bahamian filmmaker Kareem Mortimers moving and topical film, Cargo, tells the tragic story of human trafficking from the point of view of reluctant trafficker, Kevin. An American exile with a gambling addiction, living in the Bahamas, he begins smuggling Haitians to Florida in an act of desperation, to keep his secrets buried and get out of a financial bind.

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Caribbean Filmmakers Stepping Up* - Trinidad & Tobago Express

Posted: Aug. 11, 2017 8:00 am

This photo gallery highlights some of the top news images made by Associated Press photographers in Latin America and the Caribbean that were published in the last week.

Bolivia held its Independence Day parade in the Kjasina desert, where an Aymara indigenous female photographer wore her traditional dress as she covered the army's 192 anniversary. Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno, who led his nation's Independence Day parade, was criticized by his predecessor Rafael Correa after he announced the sale a presidential jet and luxury cars to help the nation's budget.

An encampment of protesting farmers continued in Asuncion, Paraguay. The growers are facing economic hardship after failed harvests due to harsh environmental conditions, and are asking the government to forgive their debts. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Catholics flocked to the patron saint of the unemployed, Saint Cajan, to pray for prosperity.

A town in Ecuador held a running of the bulls event where it set loose about 40 bulls during the town's annual fair. Mexico City hosted a Pumas vs. America's soccer match, and Brazil put on a Copa Libertadores match between Botafogo and Uruguay's Nacional. Ecuador's Emelec players kneeled to watch their team's penalty shoot-out, which they ultimately lost, at a Copa Libertadores match in Buenos Aires.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro vowed that a band of anti-government fighters who attacked an army base will get the "maximum penalty" as his administration roots out his enemies. He also saw the swearing-in of its new all-powerful Constitutional Assembly.

Colorful packages of seized cocaine were displayed to the media at the pacific port of Buenaventura in Colombia. In Bogota, Australian Cassandra Sainsbury attended her court hearing after the 22-year-old was detained at the international airport caught trying to smuggle about 6 kilos of cocaine inside packages of headphones.

After Mexican journalist Javier Valdez was shot dead in front of his Riodoce newspaper office, his colleagues continued reporting as bodies piled up across Mexico, and more and more of the dead are journalists. Residents on Mexico's Gulf coast tied down and taped up their storefronts as Hurricane Storm Franklin approached.

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This photo gallery was curated by photo editor Leslie Mazoch in Mexico City. On Twitter: @Leslie Mazoch

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AP photographers and photo editors on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP/lists/ap-photographers

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AP PHOTOS: Editor selections from Latin America, Caribbean - New Jersey Herald

160 Couples renewed their I Dos at sunset on Eagle Beach, Aruba. (Photo Credit: PRNewsfoto/Aruba Tourism Authority)

ORANJESTAD, Aruba, Saturday August 12, 2017 As the sun set on Aruba on Tuesday evening, more than 160 couples gathered on the world-famous Eagle Beach to simultaneously renew their I Dos, in the Caribbeans largest vow renewal ceremony.

The two-hour events romantic dcor and chic ambiance were inspired by real on-island weddings, and featured elegant white linen with pops of vibrant Caribbean colours.

Couples relished in the opportunity to celebrate their love on the worlds number three beach, while enjoying champagne, hors doeuvres, local music and Carnival-like festivities.

Aruba is a culturally-rich destination, beloved as one of the worlds top beach destinations for weddings and honeymoons, said Ronella Tjin Asjoe-Croes, CEO of the Aruba Tourism Authority. It felt truly special to showcase our islands defining qualities during this unprecedented ceremony while sharing Arubas love and happiness with loyal and first-time visitors alike.

Among the more than 320 participants were travel influencers and celebrity couples, including Tamra and Eddie Judge, known from Bravo TVs The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Aruba is simply beautiful. It meant everything for Eddie and I to be able to renew our I Dos in such a picturesque setting, in the company of our family, said Tamra.

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Aruba Hosts Caribbean's Largest Vow Renewal - Caribbean360.com (subscription)

The amount governments across the Caribbean have been paying law firms in Washington DC to lobby the the US government on their behalf has been revealed as part of an investigation.

St Kitts and Nevis, the Dominican Republic, and Antigua and Barbuda are all included, reports News Americas Now.

The conclusions are based on the US Attorney Generals latest Foreign Agents Registration Act report, which is sent to Congress.

Theres nothing wrong with this to a point, a source told WIC News.

All the persons in the Caribbean have their interests. You just got to wonder how what goes on. I want the people to see the full picture.

The Bahamas and the Dominica Republic were the biggest spenders in the six-month period ending 29 February 2016, spending US$1,490,126.30 and US$1,393,239.58, respectively.

At the other end of the scale, Barbados is reported to have paid US$3,548, while the government of Antigua and Barbuda shelled out US$15,147.37 with an application made to the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation to have the US Secretary of Education determine that the foreign principals medical programme accreditation standards are comparable to those used in the United States.

The law firms hired by Caribbean administrations are some of the worlds highest earners.

Hogan Lovells, hired by Antigua-Barbuda and The Bahamas, has more than 40 offices around the world and in 2013 was the 11th biggest law firm in the world with earnings of almost US$2 billion.

Washington DC-based Patton Boggs, which earns almost $1 billion each year, was used by The Dominica Republic to give advice to the foreign principal with respect to the development and implementation of public diplomacy programmes.

However, some of the islands used boutique firms.

St Kitts and Nevis paid Lanny J Davis and Associates US$52,752.30 to address the concerns of the US Treasury Department and the Canadian government regarding enhanced due diligence and background vetting related to the Citizenship by Investment Programme.

Despite the company being one of the smaller featured in the investigation, Lanny J Davis was the former special counsel to US President Bill Clinton.

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Report shows amount Caribbean states paid firms to lobby the US - WIC News

Royal Caribbean Blog (blog)

Royal Caribbean offering instant savings and Oasis Class bonuses for weekend Sail Away Sale Royal Caribbean Blog (blog) Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to be a useful resource ... How Royal Caribbean Creates the Best Cruise Ships on the PlanetCruise Fever Taking a Fresh Look at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL)StockNewsJournal Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) Position Cut by World Asset Management IncBNB Daily (blog) The Cerbat Gem -StockNewsTimes all 126 news articles »

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Royal Caribbean offering instant savings and Oasis Class bonuses for weekend Sail Away Sale - Royal Caribbean Blog (blog)

Cruises are definitely a smart vacation solution for the traveler with wanderlust and a big appetite. Carnival Cruise Lines newest ship, Vista, aims to offer both astounding travel excursions and an extensive variety of dining options to suit all tastes. The Daily Meal recently joined Carnival aboard the Vista for 7 days of eating and drinking through the Western Caribbean.

Carnivals Vista launched in 2016 as the first of three vessels in the company's Vista-class series, and this vessel offers some unique features, including an IMAX theater, the SkyRide in-air attraction, and exclusive food collaborations Pig & Anchor and Guys Burger Joint (both from none other than Guy Fieri himself). Departing from the Port of Miami, this voyage included stops in Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

Serving nearly 4,000 passengers over seven days, the Vista boasts a selection of 17 onboard restaurants, ranging from upscale to casual, ethnic to all-American, and all-inclusive to paid. Deciding where to start and what to try can be a bit overwhelming. We narrowed it down to the top five.

Plan ahead and make reservations, especially for a seat at The Chefs Table and JiJi Asian Kitchen. Although neither are a part of Carnivals all-inclusive dining option, the surcharge is well worth the experience.

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Feasting Through the Western Caribbean on Carnival's Vista - The Daily Meal

Its not just the Great Barrier Reef coral reefs around the globe are in decline due to climate change, ocean pollution, and a number of other impacts of human activities on marine environments.

But new research finds that coral gardening, which involves planting fragments of nursery-raised coral on reefs in the wild to replenish depleted coral colonies, is playing a key role in the restoration of staghorn coral reef systems in the Caribbean and might just help inform strategies to ensure the long-term survival of the worlds coral reefs in the future.

A study published in the journal Coral Reefs in June looks at how successful restoration efforts have been at several sites in Florida and Puerto Rico over the first two years of a staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) gardening program. The researchers behind the study a team led by scientists with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami (UM) say they found that current restoration methods do not cause excessive damage to donor colonies (from which coral tissue is taken and propagated in a nursery), and that once the coral fragments are planted back out in the wild, known as being outplanted, they behave just like wild colonies.

Particularly susceptible to bleaching, staghorn coral populations have declined more than 80 percent over the past 30 years due to higher incidence of disease and the impacts of global warming, especially higher ocean temperatures and ocean acidification, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The species was listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2006 and is currently listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

There have been efforts to propagate and reintroduce A. cervicornis in waters near the Dominican Republic, Florida, Honduras, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, the IUCN reports.

Coral reefs are declining at an alarming rate and coral restoration programs are now considered an essential component to coral conservation and management [planning], Diego Lirman, a professor of marine biology and ecology at UM and co-author of the study, said in a statement.

Lirman and the rest of the team collected data on the survival and productivity of thousands of individual A. cervicornis colonies within six different geographical regions in order to develop benchmarks that can be used to assess coral reef restoration efforts and their impacts on the overall ecosystem. Our findings provide the necessary scientific benchmarks to evaluate restoration progress moving forward, Lirman added.

We propose that up to 10% of the biomass can be collected from healthy, large A. cervicornis donor colonies for nursery propagation, the researchers write in the study. They also propose a number of benchmarks for the first year of staghorn coral restoration efforts: greater than 75 percent live tissue cover remaining on donor colonies; greater than 80 percent survival of nursery corals; and greater than 70 percent survival of outplanted corals.

The worlds wild coral reef systems provide habitat for fisheries, supply food for humans and numerous marine species, and help protect shorelines against hurricanes and other extreme weather events. Thats why coral restoration is coming to be seen as an effective means of ensuring coral reef systems are still capable of providing those ecosystem services as well as for mitigating the impacts of rising sea levels and storm surges on coastlines, according to UM coral biologist Stephanie Schopmeyer, lead author of the study.

Our study showed that current restoration methods are very effective, Schopmeyer said in a statement. Healthy coral reefs are essential to our everyday life and successful coral restoration has been proven as a recovery tool for lost coastal resources.

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Critically endangered staghorn corals are benefiting from coral gardening in the Caribbean - Mongabay.com

Seven Caribbean restaurants will bring a variety of island specialties to the Pittsburgh Caribbean Seafood Fess from 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the Rhododendron Shelter in Highland Park.

Organizer Steve Miller, who has hosted past Jamaican events for family and friends, decided to expand both his focus and his audience. This event will feature food from all Caribbean islands rather than only Jamaica, and the public is invited.

Participating restaurants includeLintons Caribbean Grille of McKeesport, Leons Caribbean Restaurant of Allentown, Fireside Caribbean Restaurant and Royal Caribbeanboth of Wilkinsburg. Mr. Miller said the menu will feature a variety of seafood dishes including crab legs, shrimp, red snapper, conch, oysters, soups and bisques, shrimp tacos and seafood salad.

Other attractions will include a live reggae band and childrens activities including clowns, a bounce house, face-painting, balloons and magic tricks.

Mr. Miller is expecting about 350 people to attend.

Pittsburgh has been going through a transformation in the last 15 years, he said. Different nationalities are coming into town, so I decided the timing was right to bring more attention to the areas Caribbean population.

Mr. Miller had heard of Caribbean festivals in other United States cities. He added that while rib fests are held in the Pittsburgh area, he has never heard about a seafood fest.

He decided seafood would be a good way to showcase the island nations because each island prepares its seafood differently, using varying seasonings.

Festival admission is free. For information, go to facebook.com and search for Pittsburgh Caribbean Seafood Fess.

Rebecca Sodergren: pgfoodevents@hotmail.com; @pgfoodevents.

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Seafood festival with Caribbean accent comes to town - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

An Air France Airbus A320 departs Toulouse, France, on Nov. 24, 2016.(Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAY)

Air France will add a new route from the United States to the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.

Air France will launch the service on Nov. 21, operating two flights a week on 170-seat Airbus A320 jets. Guadeloupe-bound flights will depart Atlanta each Wednesday and Sunday. The return flights leave Guadeloupe on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Air France will be the only airline flying non-stop on the route.

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A close partner of Delta, Air France says Guadeloupe passengers will be able to connect to or from more than 60 U.S. and Canadian destinations via Delta, which operates its largest hub in Atlanta. In the other direction, Air Frances Atlanta passengers will be able to connect via Guadeloupe to Martinique another French Caribbean island or to Cayenne in the French territory of French Guiana in South America (Wednesdays only).

For Air France, Atlanta becomes its second U.S. city with service to the Caribbean. The carrier already flies from Miami to Guadeloupe and to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

TODAY IN THE SKY:Air France celebrates network 'heart' at Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport

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Air France adds Caribbean route from Atlanta - USA TODAY