BHTA Partners With MOT for Tru Tru Bahamian Festival

The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association has joined forces with industry partners including the Ministry of Tourism, Cable Bahamas (Rev On), John Watling’s Distillery, The Bahamas Out Islands Promotion Board (BOIPB), The Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board (NPIPB) and the Paradise Island Tourism Development Association (PITDA), in an effort to continue to highlight and promote, authentic “Tru-Tru” Bahamian Culture, Heritage, Traditions, Artistic and Culinary Flair and indigenous Flora and Fauna. 

The initial manifestation of the “Tru-Tru” Movement will be a “Tru-Tru” Bahamian Festival to be held on Saturday, November 7th 2015; starting at 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Historic Charles Towne, on the scenic grounds of the historic 1789 Buena Vista Estate, home to John Watling’s Distillery. The distillery is located on Delancy Street in Downtown Nassau. 

The festival will welcome throngs of locals and visitors and provide a plethora of authentic experiences; Bahamian sights and sounds showcased through the presentation of arts and crafts, culinary creations, traditions and representations of cultural expressions from times past. The festival will highlight the vast and diverse archipelago of the Bahamas, and the variety of unique experiences that is indigenous to each island. 

Bahamian Musicians will be featured throughout the day; such as The Gerald Cash Primary Rake and Scrape Band; the sweet sounds of Ira Storr, College of the Bahamas’ “Jam Session”, and a Junior Junkanoo rush out by the CR Walker Senior High Marching Band as the event finale. Bahamian artisans and craftsmen and women will showcase their skills and sell their creations. Bahamian culinarians will provide festival goers with a wide variety of Tru-Tru Bahamian culinary delights. A themed children’s corner will feature a touch tank with underwater creatures,Bahamian traditional toys such as the indestructible lignum vitae spinning top and many other activities. Children will be able to meet Ardastra’s animals and learn about ancient forests and sea gardens through the Bahamas National Trust (BNT) and the Bahamas Reef Environment Education Foundation (BREEF). Bahamian Artists will have exhibitions displayed throughout the festival and in their own “artists nook”. The festival will be a vortex of all things Bahamian.

The Tru-Tru movement seeks to encourage repeat visits to the Bahamas as “one could not possible savor the flavor in one sampling”; and to showcase the fact that the Bahamas as a destination, is wholly unique due to the sheer geography of the astounding Bahamian archipelago, and the incredibly wide variety of culturally relevant, indigenously extraordinary experiences available for exploration. 

Carlton Russell, Senior Vice President of the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association and Chairman of the Events Committee describes one aspect of Tru-Tru’s mandate: “In addition to promoting our unique culture and heritage to the world, The Tru-Tru movement hopes to remind Bahamians of where it is we came from; how we got to where we are in order to help us get to where we need to go. The Tru-Tru Movement aims to bring forth a feeling of pride. The stories told to us by our matriarchs were told to us were for a reason; lest we forget. Our traditions should be held sacred, they make us unique; we need to be reminded of this at times, which is what we seek to do with Tru-Tru”. 

Joy Jibrilu, Director General of the Ministry of Tourism offered her comments: “The Ministry of Tourism is proud to sponsor the Tru-Tru Bahamian Festival. We believe this festival will be an extraordinary cultural event that will teach both locals and visitors more about The Bahamas. We commend the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association for being innovative in creating such a festival. I urge all Bahamians to participate in such events that continue draw millions to our shores”

The partnership and support platform also includes stakeholders integral to the formula for success; The Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board (GBITB); The Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), the Downtown Nassau Partnership (DNP), The Bahamas Hotel Employers Association, Bahamas Hotel Industry Management Pension Fund; The Musicians Union and the Bahamas Musicians Pension Fund, Providence Advisors, Henry Storr Electric Co., The Pointe and the Historical Charles Towne Association.  

The alliance of industry partners gathered at the host venue;  John Watling’s Distillery, to unveil the Tru-Tru Bahamian Logo, which will serve as the “Stamp of Authenticity” for the upcoming Tru-Tru festival; future events, occasions and marketing efforts.