This weekend, Saturday, July 30th, and Sunday, July 31st, San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, will host the Belize International Music and Food Festival, the first of its kind. It will take place at the Honourable Louis Sylvestre Complex, Saca Chispas. The festival will include the best of Belizean and international cuisine and an impressive line-up of local and international musical artists. To make it easier for people traveling to the island from the mainland (Belize City), the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) has partnered with San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi to provide discounted rates on round-trip tickets for those attending the festival.
A festival ticket must be presented to obtain the discount valued at BZ$69. This special promotion is only for this weekend, Saturday, and Sunday.
The Saca Chispas field will be open to the public, free of charge, each day of the festival from 11AM to 3PM. This will focus on the food part of the festivity. Over 20 food booths from the island and across the country will feature Belizean and international delicacies. At 3PM, the venue will be closed to the public to begin preparations for the live performances of each day.
The event spearheaded by BTB will feature different Belizean and International music genres ranging from Reggae, Afro-Beats, Dancehall, Soca, Punta, and Latin beats. It will include performances of ten international artists, two international DJs, and a host of local artists and DJs. Among the local artists will be Supa G, Ernestine Carballo, TR Shine, Stig da Artist, Flaco Leslie, Yas Thalia, Denise Castillo, J Cas, Dajah, King Rome, Brithney Starr, Don Doe, Den Z, Papa John, TLC Band, and Centa Stayge Sessions. International performers will include Koffee, Patrice Roberts, Demarco, Timaya, Barrington Levy, Ricardo Drue, Teddyson John, Farmer Nappy, Lil Natty and Thunda, Sonora Dinamita (a Mexican Cumbia group), DJ International Stephen, and DJ Supa Twitch.
Goals of the festival
The festival will set the stage for innovations beyond sound and taste in a platform to inspire and market Belize and all its assets. Some of the expectations from this first-of-a-kind event are to create an immersive tourism experience through music and culture that will strengthen Belize’s image as a premier destination for visitors across the globe. The event will be a platform for Belizean artists to showcase their talent, network with each other, and build relationships for international growth. It will be a good opportunity to increase domestic, regional, and international tourism traffic during what is usually considered the tourism industry’s slow season.
Members of BTB and the Ministry of Tourism believe it will be a successful event and will introduce a new option for entertainment for the summer months every year. In the meantime, they also expect to fulfill the goal of creating a state-of-the-art music studio that will serve as a hub for local artists and musicians.
