The Harquail Theatre grounds were alive with music, food and culture with about 2,000 people enjoying the annual Red Sky at Night held on Saturday, 22 March.

The event was the culmination of the 20-day celebration of Cayfest, the Cayman National Festival of the Arts.

“This year’s Cayfest was a beautiful close to a vibrant season of creative and cultural programming,” Cassandra Shea, Cayman National Cultural Foundation’s head of theatre and festivals, told the Cayman Compass.

“Red Sky at Night welcomed the largest number of vendors we’ve ever registered, which is a true testament to the continued growth and engagement of our local artisan and artist community,” she said, adding, “From still life paintings and handcrafted jewellery, to traditional local cuisine, the event showcased the incredible diversity of our community and artistic and cultural expressions.”

The grounds were transformed into multiple stages featuring a dynamic mix of dance, music and spoken word, film, literature and theatre.

Along with the Harquail Theatre, which highlighted local film screenings by Matthew Seales and Jazz Pitcairn and poetry performances from artists including Sophie McKenzie and Hylton Grace, the multi-disciplinary arts fair also included a ‘Thatch Walk’ with over 50 local artists and artisans displaying paintings, photography, bespoke fashion, jewellery, books, plants, jams and sauces.

Residents and visitors were invited to step back in time at the Caymanian Village stage, which featured demonstrations of traditional crafts and activities, including rope-laying, the Caymanian board game ‘wauri’, conch-shell blowing, gigs, peppermint-candy making, and smoke pots.

A starlit backdrop of ‘The Square’ featured local cuisine from vendors as well as the sound stage for performances that included Radiance Dance Studio, UCCI Pandemix Steel Pan Band, Maypole dance by Theoline McCoy Primary School, Cayman Folk Singers and Cayman Islands Dance Company.

When the sun went down, emcees turned the event up a notch with dynamic sounds of local bands and singers on the main sound stage, including Madam Nirosa, Georgie Duarte, Heat, and the guardians of Caymanian culture, Swanky Kitchen Band.

Continued growth

Shea noted that CNCF has much more on the way. “Keep an eye on our social media for more updates, programmes from our events team, and the upcoming launch of our new website –a platform designed to share resources, offer support and host our community calendar”.

Upcoming events include ‘Wha Happening’ by Matt Brown, Gimistory and the National Arts and Culture Awards.