On a recent trip to the Caribbean island of Antigua & Barbuda I was fortune enough to spend a month on Dockside Road in the 18th Century town called English Harbour with the worlds only working dockyard of the Georgian period called Nelson’s Dockyard after the most famous Royal Navy officer in British history. He served in Antigua between 1784 and 1787. The site is  a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated in the southern part of the island. 

It’s a double celebration and new movie for Antigua & Barbuda’s filmmaking duo, Howard and Mitzi Allen (HAMA) as they return to the big screen in 2023 with their latest feature Deep Blue. The new movie hits local screens as the couple celebrates their 30^th year of marriage and storytelling through their company HaMafilms, Antigua.

At a recent meeting Antigua & Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne hinted to Britain’s Earl of Wessex that he use his diplomatic influence to achieve “reparatory justice” for the island of Barbuda as visitors and residents are beginning to return in numbers to the very special island after 2017’s Hurricane Irma caused such devastation.

The Motion Picture Association of Antigua and Barbuda hosted its 7th annual International Film Festival of Antigua, on
October 30th, 2022. The red-carpet event was held at the Dean William Lake Cultural Centre as part of the 41 st  Independence celebration.
 
The red-carpet event included a phenomenal presentation by the students of the Antigua Film Academy, where their movie “Nobody Hit Mi Pickney” premiered.
This short film was done by the students and won the award of “Best Student Film” at the Canadian film festival COMMFFEST.

In celebration of Antigua and Barbuda’s independence, I went to Kitchener, Ontario for a potluck. Ever since I was young, I have looked forward to potlucks because they involve three of my favourite things: food, friends and family. I love the feeling of sharing homemade food with people and the fellowship that it creates. It is also a time for recipe exchange and realizing how much we need to do as a diaspora to preserve our recipes for future generations to come.

Shavani Stewart is an ambitious Antiguan young woman born of Moorish-Jamaican descent. She graduated from the Antigua and Barbuda International Institute of Technology (ABIIT) where she majored in Information Technology. She is currently undertaking her path to leadership as Chairperson and Founder of the Red Pledge Initiative.

The book, “Love, Friendship, & Betrayal” was successfully launched at the Motion Picture Association of Antigua and Barbuda (MPAAB), gala on October 31st, 2022. It was a Red-Carpet event with over 300 patrons in attendance. The first segment was dedicated to the book launch, while the highlight of the second segment was the showing of a short film – No Body Hit me Pickney. This film won the award- of Best Student Film, at the COMMFFEST film festival in Canada.

NEW YORK 1st November, 2022 - The Church of the Crucifixion in Harlem erupted in joyful praise as flags were raised high by an appreciative congregation of Antiguans and Barbudans attending the Independence Service of Thanksgiving this past Sunday. Pews were filled this year as compared to last year when the service had to be held remotely due in large measure to the pandemic. 

My recent trip to Antigua & Barbuda included a visit to the historical Betty’s Hope sugar plantation established in 1650 shortly after the island became a crown colony. It was the first large-scale sugar plantation to operate on the island and belonged to the Christopher Codrington family from 1674 to 1944. He named the property Betty’s Hope after his daughter. The emphasis centered on sugar, following the earlier dominance of tobacco, indigo, and ginger crops.