The Trelawny Yam Festival is a go for 2011!  The event will be held on Easter Monday, April 25, 2011, in Albert Town Square.  See details below and check out our new Facebook page for the event!

The start of a New Year always generates a buzz of enthusiasm and cautious excitement among the Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency  fraternity because we must,... like it or not, answer the question,....Is there going to be Trelawny Yam Festival this year? In my capacity as the Executive Director it is my responsibility to gather the team and determine the issues and concerns at hand and build consensus on the  strategies moving forward.  With the STEA Directors having met twice on the matter and the planning committees also at work there is a clear plan to stage the event on Easter Monday April 25, 2011. The venue is the Albert Town Square which means the festival is returning to its home base after a period of staging outside the community. Although the intention is to have the festival, there are a few conditions that need to be met to ensuring  the smooth staging this time and  guarantee the feasibility for all future stagings. A few of the conditions are;

1. The local community businesses and yam farmers must become more involved with the festival to help by volunteering their time and cover the cost of staging this community festival.
2. There has to be early indication of corporate sponsorship commitment to feel confident that the expenses associated with the event can be covered fully.
3. Managing the crowd and collecting from patrons entering an open community with no secure boundaries.
4. Reducing costs and staging the authentic Trelawny Yam Festival at its traditionally high level of production.

We have set a target of February 28, for concerns and issues associated with the above to be fully ironed out and to move full speed ahead with the execution leading up to staging on Easter Monday April 25. Hopefully you can read this update on a weekly basis to see where we are at behind the scenes and who knows,... you may well become an active participant or partner.  That is how the thing is set right now.

Respect

STEA and local business operators in Albert Town held a meeting this week to discuss plans for Trelawny Yam Festival 2011.  The meeting was very productive.  A follow-up meeting is planned for Feb. 10.  Contact us if you would like to be involved!