St Lucia wins miss carival'12

Miss Carival 2012 is  St. Lucian Roxanne Didier  Nicholas she captured the crown on Friday, 06 July 2012  in St Vincent and the Granadines. She defeated contestants from  Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica Republic, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela . Th pageant, in its 27th year, was held as part of St. Vincent’s carnival celebrations.

The beauties appeared under the following segments: Introductory Appearance (not judged) swimwear, talent, Evening Gown and interview segments.

The official results are as follows:

Best in swim wear       Carice Glasgow of St. Vincent
Best interview              Davia Chambers of Trinidad
Best evening wear       Kalia Huggins of St. Kitts
Best talent                       Roxanne Didier Nicholas of St. Lucia
Miss Community spirit   Olufunmike Majorie Bands Devonish of Anguilla
Miss Congeniality             Astrid Andrena Hidalgo Martinez of Venezuela
Miss Photogenic         Charlene Christmas of Barbados

We the at  Hummingbird would like to congratulate Roxanne Didier  Nicholas and thank her for being a great ambassador for  Saint Lucia .

This is one of the great views you can experience on the Southern tip of St Lucia. (from www.slunatrust.org ) The Maria Islands were declared a Nature Reserve in 1982 by the Government of Saint Lucia in recognition of their special function as a wildlife habitat and their unique flora and fauna.  There are over eighty (80) plant species found on Maria Islands.  The island is home five endemic reptile species such as the world’s rarest snake – the Kouwés snake (Saint Lucia Racer), The Saint Lucia whiptail (Zandou), The Worm Snake (non poisonous), The Pygmy and Rock geckos as well as several species of cacti and undisturbed tropical plants on the vertical cliff.

The islands are set about one half mile from Pointe Sable on the South East coast of Saint Lucia. Maria Major is 10.1 hectares and its little sister Maria Minor is 1.6 hectares.  The island is also a major nesting site for migratory birds which travel thousands of miles from the west coast of Africa to nest annually.  It is usually closed for the nesting season which runs from May to August.  This time frame is adjusted annually by the Saint Lucia Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture depending on the birds’ migratory patterns.

The Saint Lucia National Trust has been conducting special environmental education tours to Maria Islands since the early 1980s. The Maria Island tour is a wonderful outing for the nature lover! It is many tours in one!  The knowledgeable guide escorts visitors to Maria Major by a local fishing boat, which pulls ashore on one of the most spectacular white sand beaches.  The exciting walk showcases the unique and breathtaking views of the town of Vieux Fort the Pitons and the entire Pointe Sable area.

The waters around islands are surrounded by coral reefs, making them great for snorkeling.

Maria Islands can be your own island in the sun for a day.
Tours are done by appointments only!! Our front desk can contact the national trust and arrange your tour to the Maria Islands. Continue reading →

 Lucian Carnival will be taking place May 28th – July 17th 2012. It all starts with the Lucian Line Jam On Monday may 28th at City Circuit, and end with the Parade of the Bands Tuesday July 17th @ Choc Round about to Castries. The official Launch event is set for Sunday June 3rd at 3:00pm- Pointe Seraphine. Continue reading →

Jazz in the South@@012 began  with a free concert o Rudy John Beach Park on Tuesday 1st May. We along with  the guests @ the Hummingbird Beach Resort were there .

The Line up included : the Laborie Steel Pan Project, Cameron Pierre band featuring Ricardo Francois Emerson Nurse and Fred Nicholas
Alibi featuring Richard Payne, Teddyson John and Francis John
Loula Trio featuring Ricardo Francois.

On May 5th Soufriere Creole Jazz’  celebrated its fifth year. We were there to bring you some photos of the event. As you can see the stage  lighting was not the best.

News from The Soufriere Foundation 

Come join us on the scenic south western coast of St. Lucia as we celebrate Soufriere Creole Jazz’ fifth year. The event will be celebrated with a big free performance on the Soufriere Waterfront on Saturday 05, May 2012. Besides signature jazz musicians; talented young steel pan music players, an award winning gospel singer and a zouk ensemble have been added to the line up to ensure the event’s creole flavor.

The event is an offspring of the St. Lucia Jazz Festival community jazz, which prior to 2007 was funded by the St. Lucia Tourist Board. In that year, the Board withdrew its financial contributions to the fringe community events and the Soufriere Foundation became the major sponsor of the activity since it was in keeping with its own mandate of fostering social, economic and cultural development of the Soufriere area. Out of this initiative came Soufriere Creole Jazz.

The festival which grew quickly to a three-day paying event has been scaled down this year to one day. It creates an environment for exposing local talent; stimulating short-term economic activity for business persons and vendors; introducing residents to a wide genre of music; marketing the community’s physical assets, etc. It has been successfully held each year with the unwavering support of its major co-sponsor the Bank of Saint Lucia and other smaller sponsors such as The Jalousie Plantation, Cool Breeze Jeep and Car Rental, etc.

This year’s event will begin at 6:00 pm with the pulsating steel pan rhythms of the Laborie Pan Project. The group consists of about twenty young pan players who range from eight to seventeen years. The group will be followed by Soufriere’s very own Aegee Simpson, singer of national hits such as Bay of Dreams (Anse Chastanet) and Soca South Africa. Aegee will be accompanied on stage by well known songstress Animator.

Black Antz, a musical group emanating from the accomplished St. Lucia School of Music, will then set the jazz mood with the drums and brass. Noted saxaphonist Rob “Zii” Taylor will take up the tempo. Zii a past performer at St. Lucia Jazz, has graced the stage with Jamaican artists such as Maxi Priest, Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Beres Hammond and Steel Pulse. He will be accompanied by the group, The Vibe Tribe.

The event will be thrown into full throttle with the performance of the energetic and captivating, award-winning gospel singer/songwriter Emrand Henry accompanied by the high tempo musical group, Matrix Band. Emrand who hails from Soufriere, ministers through reggae, dancehall, soca, rhythm and blues, and zouk. His diversity allows him to reach out to every culture and demographic and he intends to do just that with his tantalizing music. In 2010, he was given an Award by the City of New York for unique personal achievement in his professional endeavours and received a second award at the prestigious annual Hopeton Lewis Caribbean Gospel Music Awards.

An all star band from Soufriere, aptly named, the Soufriere Zouk Ensemble, will end the night. The group will take you on a journey back in time to enjoy the beautiful music of the True Tones, Rebirth 7 Original, Merry Makers, Quavers Orchestra, Kassav, etc. Dance, prance, move your feet to the music which maintains the true creole flavor of the event called, Soufriere Creole Jazz.

The Soufriere Foundation wishes to thank the Bank of Saint Lucia, The Jalousie Plantation, Cool Breeze Jeep and Car Rentals, Helen Television System and Radio 100, Horatio Gas Station, Barbay Ltd, Mystic Man Tours, Cosol Tours, M&C Insurance Brokers, Builder’s Choice, JJ’s Paradise, Palmer’s Construction, Didier’s Distribution, Newlands Contractors Incorporated, Villa des Piton, Alfred’s Hardware, Waterfront De Belle View Restaurant, 88.5 Soufriere FM, and others for their sponsorship.( from soufrierefoundation.org)

Although Gros Islet is well renown as the prime night time spot in St. Lucia, Anse La Raye is Catching up.

“Anse La Raye Fish Friday”

Every Friday a live band and a variety of Seafood is prepared where hundreds of people compact the beautiful village of Anse La Raye for this event. Local music is played as people dance away to the sweet sounds of the Caribbean music, and feast themselves on the freshly caught seafood. A definite must when visiting Saint Lucia. Don”t like the drive of the winding roads ? Don’t worry as you have choice of going to this event via sea or land taxi, which ever one you choose you won’t regret visiting. Please contact your front desk to arrange transportation.

May 1 2012 is known in St Lucia as Labour Day.Labor Day this is a holiday for all the workers in St. Lucia to recognize the important role we all play in national development. The day is characterized by lots of Union activity
It is a day which stated with the workers  movement  advocating : eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.