Category Archives: Caribbean

Fort Lauderdale Daily

Nevis: The Undiscovered Caribbean Island Only A Short Flight Away From Miami Fort Lauderdale Daily When deciding on a Caribbean vacation, Floridians tend to hop over to well-known tourist destinations like The Bahamas, Jamaica or the Dominican Republic, which are bustling with all-inclusive resorts and tourist traps. But for those looking to escape ... Retiring in the CaribbeanThe Times (subscription) all 6 news articles »

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Nevis: The Undiscovered Caribbean Island Only A Short Flight Away From Miami - Fort Lauderdale Daily

Acouple stepped up to the counter of a local Grenada eatery to order lunch. Fried fish and a couple of bakes, the woman ordered.

What to drink? asked the smiling young girl behind the counter.

Fruit punch for me, and the women gave her husband a nudging look to answer for himself.

Whats the sea moss? he inquired. The counter girl blushed, and motioned for the chef to come out front. As he repeated the question, a big grin spread across the chefs face.

Conspiratorially, the chef leaned close to the customers ear and whispered: Try it, its good for your His deft hand motion pointing downward instantly made clear the potent powers this drink proposed.

Ill have the sea moss, said the husband.

The sensualness of the sun, sand and sea creates the mood for love 365 days a year in the Caribbean. Like other areas of the world, there are foods like sea moss and several others that legend tells can enhance Cupids powers.

Sea moss, or Irish moss, is a marine plant that grows in profusion along the shorelines of many islands. The plant is fan shaped, with finger-like prongs. It becomes translucent when first harvested, and creamy white when mixed with evaporated milk, vanilla and sugar into an invigorating drink. Island men covet this brew as their own special form of Viagra.

The sea also provides other aphrodisiacs like sea eggs and oysters. Sea eggs are the roe of the white sea urchin, which is found in the relatively shallow waters surrounding the islands. Entering through this spiny shell offers the enticing reward of a mound of soft, slightly salty tasting eggs inside. Sea eggs found on island restaurant menus are often cooked and flavored with other ingredients, but their virile powers are best when sucked down raw right off the shell. The same raw recipe stands true for the aphrodisiac powers of oysters. Global food historians tell that Casanova ate 50 raw oysters every morning in the bathtub with the lady he fancied. Island men often go one better than Casanova, for the mangrove-tree oyster of the Caribbean is a scant two inches long. It takes a great many to satisfy one appetite and spark another.

Island residents lead a spicy life, thanks to the trinity of celery, onion and garlic. This mixture is what gives most soups, stews and entrees their exotic taste. Long celery stalks, by virtue of their shape, elicit thoughts of love. But islanders will tell you that its celery seed that is even more vitalizing, especially when crushed and added to a flavorful dish. Onions take their passionate potency from their pungent fire. An old West Indian wives tale warns (or wishes) that men who make-up a paste of onion juice and honey and apply it repeatedly to an unwilling member may wind up having that recalcitrant fellow standing at attention for days. Garlics aphrodisiacal effect is rooted in its power to produce a wonderful feeling of well-being after a meal. The tomato too is also found in many Creole Caribbean dishes. Its red heart-shape has earned it the name love apple.

Some of the Caribbeans Garden of Eden fruits speak of love from their obvious, almost embarrassing, resemblance to those two anatomical founts of joy. Bananas and plantains mimic the male member. Avocados, once cut in half, look like the gentler sex. Cocoa pods are also female in their appearance. Long ago in the Mexican Caribbean, the Aztec chief Montezuma is said to have consumed over 50 cups a day of a cocoa drink made from crushed cocoa, chili peppers and snow. Perhaps it was the caffeine buzz that set him afire for the village women folk.

Back in Grenada, the nutmeg too an essential ingredient in sea moss holds Cupid powers of its own. A half-nut quantity works men up like astallion according to the lyrics of one of Jamaican-born Beenie Mans songs.

Do any of these foods really work? Who knows? However, the couple who had ordered the sea moss at the food truck said days later that theyd never tellall the while wearing big smiles.

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The Caribbean Culinary Cupids: Food to Put you in the Mood - All At Sea

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Disneyland is changing up a major scene in it Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

According to a disneyparks blog post, the scene that once saw women being auctioned off (next to the Auction, Take a wench for a bride sign ) will be replaced with a scene of villagers lining up to surrender their valuables. The sign will be replaced to read "Auction, surrender yer loot", and the red-headed woman that was once a prize in the original scene will now be among the pirate ranks as an overseer complete with rifle and feathered cap.

In a statement to The Orange County Register spokeswoman for the Disneyland Resort Suzi Brown said we believe the time is right to turn the page to a new story in this scene, consistent with the humorous, adventurous spirit of the attraction.The new scene will roll out at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World in 2018.

This is far from the first alteration to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which opened at Disneyland Park in Anaheim in 1967. In 1997 a scene depicting pirates chasing women was altered to show them chasing women carrying trays of food, while characters from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean films were added in 2006.

Lucy O'Brien is Games & Entertainment Editor at IGNs Sydney office. Follow her onTwitter.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Disney Making This Major Alteration to the ... - IGN

St Lucia has been listed as one of the top three holiday destinations in the Caribbean by US News & World Report.

The publication recently released its Worlds Best Places to Visit list, ranking St Lucia just behind the British Virgin Islands and Guadeloupe.

According to article, St Lucia is a lush, unspoiled island with a growing fan base that spans honeymooners, thrill seekers and music lovers.

It highlights the fact that St Lucia does not limit itself to offering just one type of vacation, believing instead that visitors can get whatever kind of holiday experience they want when they come to the island.

The list is compiled using a methodology that brings together travellers opinions along with the input of travel editors and industry experts.

Each destination is judged according to a set of 10 criteria, including adventure, nightlife, food, culture, romance and sights.

Over 300 countries were analysed in these and other categories to come up with the rankings.

St Lucia continues to be a favourite among tourists due to its array of premier hotels, resorts, villas and other boutique accommodation, according to St Lucia Tourist Board.

The countrys tours and attractions, such as the iconic twin peaks, the Pitons, and the Sulphur Springs mud baths entice families, couples and sole travellers looking for adventure, they added.

At the moment the nation is running the Saint Lucia Rocks This Summer promotional campaign, which offers deals of up to 50% off room rates and great discounts on tours and attractions.

Visitors can revel in Saint Lucias unique blend of exotic beauty and exciting array of fun-filled activities via sizzling packages available through this summer campaign, said the tourism authority.

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St Lucia named third best Caribbean holiday spot - WIC News

child was found underwater in a pond

Melbourne police officers are investigating the drowning of a 2-year-old at about 4:15 p.m. Sunday at the Caribbean Villas Apartments, located at 2639 Granada Bay Drive.

BREVARD COUNTY MELBOURNE, FLORIDA Melbourne police officersare investigating the drowning of a 2-year-old at about 4:15 p.m. Sunday at the Caribbean Villas Apartments, located at 2639 Granada Bay Drive.

Officers were dispatched to the Caribbean Villas Apartment complex, and after searching the area, the child was found underwater in a pond behind the clubhouse.

An officer entered the water and pulled the child out and immediately began life saving measures.

Melbourne Fire Rescue and Brevard County Fire Rescue arrived on scene and continued CPR measures, however, it was determined the child had succumbed to this tragic event.

Detectives are in the initial stages of this investigation and more information will be released when available.

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Melbourne Police Officers Investigate Drowning at Caribbean Villas Apartment Complex - SpaceCoastDaily.com

Amid the finger-pointing and blaming over votes at the Organisation of American States (OAS) on matters related to Venezuela, the fundamental problems of the organisation have been overlooked.

Sadly, and wrongly, media commentators and armchair experts have chosen to target Caribbean countries as the villains behind blocking resolutions on the situation in Venezuela. Several of them have credited the draft declaration on which a vote was taken on June 19 to the United States or Peru. The fact is that the draft declaration was a negotiated text, based in large measure on a draft that was produced by Caribbean heads of government.

While misrepresentations are regrettable, of greater importance is the weakness of the organisation itself and the paralysis that it faces as a direct result of its outmoded charter and rules of procedure. In its present form, it cannot legitimately interfere or intervene in the internal affairs of its member states.

For the Caribbean, a particular area of disquiet should be the suggestion that the time has come to create a kind of Security Council of the OAS, similar to the antiquated regime of the UN, where five countries take the big decisions and each exercises a veto power over the others and every other nation. This suggestion is directed specifically at the 14 Caribbean countries which, when they vote in harmony, affect decisions of the 34-member body.

The OAS was signed into being in 1948. It was a different time, with different challenges, requiring different responses. In the 69 years that have passed, much has changed. But while those changes have occurred with dramatic effect in the world, except for three protocols, the charter of the OAS has remained the same.

While the Inter-American Democratic Charter was given birth in 2001, it was cradled in the construct of the OAS Charter. The UN political compact on 'the responsibility to protect' people from large-scale human rights violations did not come about for another four years, and, even then, it was not made legally binding.

The governments of the OAS member states are trying to operate in a new and challenging environment within an old and irrelevant framework, with the result that, on the political front, the organisation is paralysed, unable to take action because its rules, procedures and framework are not designed to address the circumstances between states and within states that now challenge the hemispheric community.

Instead of seriously reviewing the organisation to determine its purpose in a changed world, and to consider what reform is required to make it fit for purpose and relevant to its transformed circumstances, a few states attempt to break its rules and procedures to achieve ends that they regard as desirable.

But, although breaking rules may work for a time, it is not sustainable. Short-term objectives might be achieved by a few, but at a price of distrust, disharmony and discord that does not and will not serve the OAS well.

There is an urgent need to review and reform the organisation. The need has existed for some time. The time for that work is now. For instance, there is a dysfunctionality between the role of the Permanent Council and the secretary general. That dysfunctionality exists because there are no clear rules between the authority of the Permanent Council and the secretary general. Until the authority of the two instruments of the organisation and their relationship with each other, including their limits, are made clear, the opportunity for self-serving interpretation will remain. And so too will continue the opportunity for mischief that retards not advances the hemispheric body.

At the 47th General Assembly of the OAS in Mexico from June 19 to 21, Antigua and Barbuda made an appeal for the assembled governments to begin to think about the importance and necessity of establishing machinery for a full review of the organisation, leading to recommendations for reform that would make it fit for purpose, relevant to its time and its peoples, and more efficient and effective in its structures of management and decision-making. Tinkering at its edges by agreeing to strengthen its institutions merely delays the day of reckoning and makes reconstruction much harder.

All nations now exist in a troubled world beset by an increasing gap in global inequality, where the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer; where the weak are disadvantaged for the benefit of the strong; and where climate change is denied even as its effects wreak havoc in island states and states with low coastal areas.

The hemisphere needs the multilateralism that the OAS could provide, particularly at a time when unilateralism has assumed a new and large dimension. There is now a brashness to unilateralism in which might is pursued falsely labelled as right.

In this regard it has been suggested that there should be some form of weighted voting in the organisation one that gives more strength to the votes of larger countries, and less regard to smaller states. But, if that is what is intended by strengthening the OAS, it is an ill-conceived notion.

Small Caribbean states do not seek to impose their will on any; instead, they seek cooperation and dialogue in furtherance of the interests of the home of the Americas in which all the peoples of OAS member states live. Within the organisation they have helped to build networks in times of institutional failure; consensus in a time of divisiveness; and bridges in a time of walls.

The financial contributions of small states to the OAS may be relatively modest in volume terms, but they are equivalent to the percentage of gross domestic product paid by every other nation, and so too is the intellectual and creative capacity that they have given to the organisation and its work. Further, since the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, the nation state has been accepted and respected.

Caribbean states have struggled through slavery and indentured labour, through colonialism and imperialism, through repression and oppression to carve a place for themselves in the world community and at the table of decision-making in the hemisphere. They earned the right to be equal members of the OAS and they pay their dues proportionately.

Caribbean small states will not yield their rights, even as they use those rights to try to reform the OAS to make it relevant to the political and economic demands of a time very different from 1948.

Sir Ronald Sanders is Antigua and Barbuda's ambassador to the US and Organisation of American States; an international affairs consultant; as well as senior fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto, and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. He previously served as ambassador to the European Union and the World Trade Organization and as high commissioner to the UK. The views expressed are his own. For responses and to view previous commentaries: http://www.sirronaldsanders.com.

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Caribbean rights in the OAS: not negotiable - Jamaica Observer

The pirates will no longer be saying We wants the Redhead in Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland after the auction scene undergoes a modification in 2018.

The Walt Disney Company plans to make changes to the auction scene in the attraction at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris in the coming year, according to Suzi Brown, spokeswoman for the Disneyland Resort.

While the scene has long been a favorite of many Disney fans, it has been the brunt of criticism for what some believed to be a sexist approach to women. Years ago, the scene that comes after the auction scene, which used to have pirates chasing women, was changed to pirates chasing women for food, and one where a woman was chasing a pirate.

Disney officials declined to comment about the sexism question.

In the auction scene, the Redhead will become a pirate, helping the Auctioneer gather valuables from the townspeople to auction off to the pirates.

Potential brides will no longer be offered at the auction to the pirates either, once the change is made; expected to take place during a refurbishment of the attraction in 2018.

We believe the time is right to turn the page to a new story in this scene, consistent with the humorous, adventurous spirit of the attraction, Brown said in a statement.

The first version of the attraction to receive the new scene will be at Disneyland Paris next month, with the two domestic parks receiving it within the next year or so.

The park announced the changes in a blog post by Kathy Mangum, senior vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering, who also released this statement: Our team thought long and hard about how to best update this scene. Given the redhead has long been a fan favorite, we wanted to keep her as a pivotal part of the story, so we made her a plundering pirate! We think this keeps to the original vision of the attraction as envisioned by Marc Davis, X Atencio and the other Disney legends who first brought this classic to life.

This is not the first time the venerable Disneyland attraction has undergone modifications. The first was in the mid-1970s when a scene with a drunken pirate and some cats was added. In 2006, characters from the film franchise, including Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbosa and Davy Jones, were added. In 2011, Blackbeard was added for a while.

Changes to Disneyland attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and others have always taken place since it opened. Just a couple of years ago the Haunted Mansion added a headless ghost to that classic attraction.

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Marty Sklar, the former vice chair of Walt Disney Imagineering, who worked alongside Walt Disney for many years, said that Walt always wanted Disneyland to grow and change, with some of those changes starting right after the park opened in 1955.

The Imagineers are simply reflecting what Walt started the day Disneyland opened making changes that create exciting new experiences for our guests. I cant think of a single attraction that has not been enhanced and improved, some over and over again. Change is a tradition at Disneyland that todays Imagineers practice, Sklar said in a statement.

He went on to say, Pirates of the Caribbean has always represented great Disney Park storytelling; it has set the standard for the theme park industry for half a century. But its a story you can continue to add fun to, with great characters in new performances. Thats what the Imagineers have done with this new auction scene its like a theatre show with a new act.

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Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride will stop auctioning brides - The Pasadena Star-News

At Disneyland, pirates can still drink, pillage and fight.

But the swashbuckling tradition of abducting and exploiting women is being sent to Davy Jones Locker.

Call it a sign of the times.

The park plans to revamp a section of the popular Pirates of the Caribbean attraction that depicts a parade of women being put on the auction block under a decidedly un-PC banner that reads Auction, Take a wench for a bride.

The auction will be replaced next year by a less offensive scene of pirates forcing the local townsfolk to give up their valuables. After all, who can be offended by a little pirate pilfering?

In the 62 years since Walt Disney welcomed his first visitors to Anaheim, Disneyland has sometimes struggled to adapt the founders version of fantasy with public sensibilities that differ from those of park visitors of the 50s and 60s.

On Tom Sawyer Island, the mock frontier rifles were removed along with the victim of an Indian arrow, who lay sprawled for years in front of a burning settlers cabin.

For several years, the skippers in the Jungle Cruise were not allowed to blast a fake revolver at the animatronic hippos in the river until visitor complaints forced Disney to re-arm the cruise ship captains and give them the green light to fire at will.

But the Pirates attraction, the last ride that Walt Disney himself helped design before he died in 1966, may have been reined in the most to conform to a more politically correct world a tricky task given the rides original rowdy spirit.

Remember those scene of pirates chasing women throughout a pillaged town? In 1997, Disney put trays of food in the womens hands so that it looked like the pirates are lusting after the food instead of the fleeing women in their flowing gowns.

Another scene that got pitched overboard showed a pirate holding up womens lingerie while a frightened woman, apparently naked, hides in a nearby barrel.

At Disney, their specialty is scrubbing everything to be squeaky clean and palatable, said Rick Rothschild, a ride designer for Disney from 1978 until 2009. Thats the Disney way.

Walt Disney Co.

An artist's rendering of the scene that will replace the bride auction in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

An artist's rendering of the scene that will replace the bride auction in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. (Walt Disney Co.)

But Disney is not the only company that has had to change an attraction to avoid offending todays guests.

At Six Flags Over Georgia, a ride that was originally based on the Uncle Remus stories of the old South was renamed Monster Mansion in 2008. The previous name, Monster Plantation, it seems, recalled for visitors scenes from slave life on a Southern plantation.

Gary Goddard, an attraction designer who worked for Disney in the 1970s and early 80s, said that changes to rides are expected but if the modifications dont make the attraction more thrilling and fun the ride suffers.

Im not against change, he said. Im against change if it makes it bland. If it keeps the spirit of the ride and makes it more fun, Im for it.

Indeed, the Pirates ride has also been injected with some Hollywood pizzazz.

Characters from the multi-billion-dollar movie franchise starring Johnny Depp were added to the ride in 2006. An animatronic Depp, in full pirate regalia, later replaced the frightened woman in the barrel.

Its normal for theme parks to modify and upgrade attractions, primarily to increase return visits.

But Disneys Anaheim park one of the nations oldest theme parks faces a unique problem when rides that have been around for decades are overhauled. Hard-core fans who grew up with the attractions feel like a part of their childhood is being erased when attractions are altered.

Todd Regan, a Disneyland fan for more than 30 years and author of the Disney website MiceChat, said he received dozens of angry, even, hate-filled responses when he wrote on his website last week that he supported the removal of the bride-auction scene.

Its very interesting how some people are justifying a scene of human trafficking in an attraction, he said.

One of Regans readers responded to news of the changes by promising to boycott all Disney parks forever. No joke. With the other changes in the parks I didn't like, I accepted them and got over it, and but not this time, the fan wrote.

Scot Squires, 43, a marketing professor and Disney fan who has visited every Disney theme park in the world, described himself as a traditionalist who is still fuming that Disney revamped the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride at California Adventure Park to incorporate Marvel superheroes.

But Squires said he has no problem with the change proposed to the Pirates ride, saying, Times have changed and I think Disney is just trying to keep up with the changes.

The ride is among the parks biggest attractions a popularity no doubt boosted by being the basis of the long-running Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise now in its the fifth installment. The Jerry Bruckheimer-produced films have grossed $3.7 billion worldwide.

Disney Enterprises Inc.

Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the film "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," the latest in the five-film franchise.

Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow in the film "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," the latest in the five-film franchise. (Disney Enterprises Inc.)

And while some previous modifications have sparked fan outrage, they have not hurt Disneylands attendance numbers or damaged the popularity of the ride, which has welcomed more than 400 million riders since it opened, according to the park.

Martin Lewison, a theme park expert, does not expect that the latest change will hurt the Burbank companys bottom line either.

Some people will be intrigued and some disappointed and the net effect will be zero, said Lewison, a business management professor at Farmingdale State College in New York.

For its part, Disney defends its actions. Asked to comment, the company cited Marty Sklar, who helped design several of the original rides at the Anaheim park.

I cant think of a single attraction that has not been enhanced and improved, some over and over again, Sklar, 83, said in a statement. Change is a tradition at Disneyland.

Still, previous changes have not been welcomed by everyone, even within the Disney company.

Francis Xavier Atencio, a longtime Disney ride designer who retired in 1984, clearly was not happy with the changes made in 1997 when the trays of food were added to the attraction.

Nobody asked me but my reaction was this is Pirates of the Caribbean not Boy Scouts of the Caribbean, he said in an interview with D23, Disneys officials fan club. Atencio also wrote the lyrics to the rides theme song, Yo, ho (A Pirates Life for Me.)

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Disneyland plans a PC makeover for its Pirates of the Caribbean attraction - Los Angeles Times

Old time something come back again! The older folks will say the old becomes new again or the more things seem to change is the more they remain the same. Stilt walking, junkanoo dancing and the moko jumbie phenomenon can be traced back many, many years as far back as the 1700s. In an online article dated 2011 the Virgin Islands Traveler focused on The Evolution of the Moko Jumbie. After reading it, I got a much clearer understanding of what stilt walkers, junkanoos and moko jumbie is all about. This part of our Caribbean culture originated in Africa where traditional dress was donned as stilt walkers were fulfilling various spiritual roles by communicating with the ancestors. They also played a key role in coming-of-age ceremonies.

B. E. Laine, a Delaware County resident recalls her memories of junkanoo dancing. I must have been about 4 years old when I became aware of junkanoo dancers. Back in those olden days they were a grass-roots group accompanied by their makeshift band. There was drumming, along with other homemade instruments mainly fashioned from kitchen utensils. Graters, spoons and pot covers made a great rhythm that kept the dancers in sync. This was not the greatest entertainment for most children, Laine said.

I can still recall how terrified I was when I saw a stilt walker for the first time in my life! A person that towered over everyone with a painted face and a scary costume. I clung to my mother for dear life! I almost lost my mind when the junkanoo dancers grabbed at other children in the crowd, Laine said. After that experience, whenever there was a parade and I heard the moko jumbie music, I would make a beeline to my bedroom and hide under my bed until I was sure that they had already gone by our house.

Since then, the art form has taken on a whole new look. The costumes that are worn have evolved into brightly colored costumes and the music that they dance to is more modern calypso, soca and reggae. When the children hear the lively beats, they jump up and start dancing to the music or tapping their feet and clapping their hands.

Stiltwalkers, moko jumbie and junkanoo have become a traditional act in circuses, parades and shows throughout the United States and other parts of the world. The UniverSoul Circus, for example, has a permanent dance group from Trinidad and Tobago called the Caribbean Dynasty Dancers. My daughter and I look forward to seeing them every time they come to Fairmount Park in Philadelphia because they bring something new and fresh to the big top every year. They are amazing. When they enter onto the stage the crowd livens up and starts to move. As someone from the Caribbean, it makes me very proud (as I am sure it does for all of us) to see other cultures embracing the beauty of the performance. We were recently at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and a part of the Lion King Circle of Light show features stilt walkers with the same type of lively Caribbean music.

Most of the Caribbean Islands boast several carnivals that feature these performers as a main tourist attraction.

Gone are the days when one has to travel to the Caribbean Islands to experience this form of entertainment. Today many stilt walkers, junkanoo dancers and moko jumbie dancers have organized themselves and are available at a price to those who so desire to make them a part of their next affair. These performers are being hired for entertainment at weddings, banquets and parties.

But, if you want to experience the original, true junkanoo, carnival, moko jumbie, you have to check the list below and visit one of the islands of the Caribbean. You wont regret it.

Anguilla: August (Carnival and Boat-Racing)

Antigua: August (Road March and Steel Drum)

Aruba: Lent (Torch Light Parades and King and Queen Elections)

Bahamas (Junkanoo): December-January (Rush-Out Parade)

Barbados (Crop Over): August (Calypso Music)

Bermuda (Bermuda Day/Junkanoo): May (Celebration of Bermudan Ancestry)

Bonaire: Lent (The Burning of King Momo)

British Virgin Islands (Emancipation Festival): July-August (Food Fairs and Street Jamming)

Cayman Islands (Batabano): April-May (Bar Hop and Soca Performances)

Cuba: Lent (Comparsas street performances)

Curacao: Lent (Tumba music)

Dominica: Lent (Jump-up Street Parade)

Dominican Republic: Lent (Elaborate Masks and Multi-town Celebrations)

Grenada: August (Local Band Performances and Queen Show)

Guadeloupe: Lent (Dance Marathons and Competitions)

Haiti: Lent (Rural Rara Festival and Creole Celebrations)

Jamaica (Bacchanal): April (Mas Camp and Bacchanal Fridays)

Martinique: Lent (Burning of Vaval, the Carnival King)

Montserrat: December (Beauty Pageants and Masqueraders Dancers)

Saba: July-August (Celebration of the Old Caribbean)

St. Barts: Lent (Vide Parade Day and Costume/Dance Competitions)

St. Eustatius: April-May (Carnival Village and International Show)

St. Kitts and Nevis (Sugar Mas): December-January (The Sugar Cup and Cocktail Party)

St. Lucia: July (Boutique Carnival and Parade of the Bands)

St. Martin/Maarten: St. Martin: Lent; St. Maarten: April (Balloon Parade and Light Parade)

St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Vincy Mas): June-July (JOuvert, Miss Carnival, and Junior Pan Fest)

Trinidad and Tobago: Lent (biggest and most well-known Carnival in the Caribbean)

Turks and Caicos (Junkanoo): December-January

U.S. Virgin Islands: St. Croix, December-January; St. Thomas, April (Food Fairs and Fireworks)

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Caribbean Currents: Stilt walking, junkanoo dancing and moko jumbie more popular than ever - The Philadelphia Tribune

The pirates will no longer be saying We wants the Redhead in Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland after the auction scene undergoes a modification in 2018.

The Walt Disney Company plans to make changes to the auction scene in the attraction at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris in the coming year, according to Suzi Brown, spokeswoman for the Disneyland Resort.

While the scene has long been a favorite of many Disney fans, it has been the brunt of criticism for what some believed to be a sexist approach to women. Years ago, the scene that comes after the auction scene, which used to have pirates chasing women, was changed to pirates chasing women for food, and one where a woman was chasing a pirate.

Disney officials declined to comment about the sexism question.

In the auction scene, the Redhead will become a pirate, helping the Auctioneer gather valuables from the townspeople to auction off to the pirates.

Potential brides will no longer be offered at the auction to the pirates either, once the change is made; expected to take place during a refurbishment of the attraction in 2018.

We believe the time is right to turn the page to a new story in this scene, consistent with the humorous, adventurous spirit of the attraction, Brown said in a statement.

The first version of the attraction to receive the new scene will be at Disneyland Paris next month, with the two domestic parks receiving it within the next year or so.

The park announced the changes in a blog post by Kathy Mangum, senior vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering, who also released this statement: Our team thought long and hard about how to best update this scene. Given the redhead has long been a fan favorite, we wanted to keep her as a pivotal part of the story, so we made her a plundering pirate! We think this keeps to the original vision of the attraction as envisioned by Marc Davis, X Atencio and the other Disney legends who first brought this classic to life.

This is not the first time the venerable Disneyland attraction has undergone modifications. The first was in the mid-1970s when a scene with a drunken pirate and some cats was added. In 2006, characters from the film franchise, including Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbosa and Davy Jones, were added. In 2011, Blackbeard was added for a while.

Changes to Disneyland attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and others have always taken place since it opened. Just a couple of years ago the Haunted Mansion added a headless ghost to that classic attraction.

Advertisement

Marty Sklar, the former vice chair of Walt Disney Imagineering, who worked alongside Walt Disney for many years, said that Walt always wanted Disneyland to grow and change, with some of those changes starting right after the park opened in 1955.

The Imagineers are simply reflecting what Walt started the day Disneyland opened making changes that create exciting new experiences for our guests. I cant think of a single attraction that has not been enhanced and improved, some over and over again. Change is a tradition at Disneyland that todays Imagineers practice, Sklar said in a statement.

He went on to say, Pirates of the Caribbean has always represented great Disney Park storytelling; it has set the standard for the theme park industry for half a century. But its a story you can continue to add fun to, with great characters in new performances. Thats what the Imagineers have done with this new auction scene its like a theatre show with a new act.

Read the original here:

Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride will stop auctioning brides - The San Gabriel Valley Tribune