Get ready for another busy Caribbean Festival
King Fish, originally from Jamaica, performs the limbo during the 8th anual Caribbean Festival last year.
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Updated: July 09, 2009 4:19 PM
The Maple Ridge Caribbean Festival will feature more entertainment and food vendors this weekend than it has in past years.
There will be 120 performers and 13 vendors serving authentic Caribbean food. There will also be arts and crafts vendors, a kids’ zone with rides and a beer garden. Live bands will play reggae, calypso, salsa and soca music throughout the weekend at the Memorial Peace Park bandstand.
On Sunday, the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalitions’ Great Ride will stop by the festival and set up a free bike lock-up adjacent to the leisure centre.
“We expect huge crowds, a lot of sunshine, a lot of fun, and great music and great ambiance,” said Deddy Geese, with the festival organizing committee. “It’s a great opportunity for people to come see what Maple Ridge is all about.”
The festival kicks off on Saturday at 11 a.m. with a Spirit Square celebration in the downtown park. A fashion show featuring clothes from Def Fashionizzle Clothing takes over the bandstand stage Saturday afternoon from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. New to the festival this year is Salsa Fest – Dance to Top 2009, which starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday night inside the Arts Centre and Theatre. Tickets are $15.
On Sunday, stage entertainment begins at noon. The popular costume parade starts at 2 p.m., followed by the King Fish limbo spectacular. The parade runs along 224th St., from Dewdney Trunk Rd. to the bandstand in Memorial Peace Park.
Festival activities wrap up at 9 p.m. with the draw of an all-inclusive one week vacation for two to Jamaica, courtesy of Air Canada Vacations. Entry tickets can be purchased until 8 p.m. on Sunday, but only 1,500 tickets are available.
• A complete list of events can be found online at www.caribbeanfest.ca.
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