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by pltm
(PLTM) - City Manager Janice Brathwaite – Edwards is promising residents another great Christmas in D-City event despite several changes such as moving to a new location, fewer vendors and no Santa giving gifts to the children.
She said the 23rd staging of the event will be held on Friday December 3rd and 4th on Shoreway Drive, located adjacent to Waterfront Drive in the vicinity of La Dolce Vita.
“We are expecting to have up to 40 tents this year, last year we had 67, but we don’t have as much space this year so we are looking technically at 40 but I believe that we will go over 40,” she told BVI Platinum News on Tuesday, November 30.
She said Hertz has granted permission for their courtyard to be used in the event it is needed.
No Santa
In the meantime, the City Manager sought to clear the air on the no-show of Santa at the upcoming event.
“We are not going to do Santa Clause in Christmas in D-City, but we are going to do Santa Clause from the 20th of December to the 24th in the Noel Lloyd Park with the opportunity to come take your pictures with Santa and get your toy. We try to break it up a little bit because when they have their toys, people don’t enjoy the entertainment.”
She informed that the event will be named, Tropical Santa comes to the city of Road Town.
Reason For The Move
Despite moving over the years from Main Street to De Castro Street, to the Central Admin Complex, Mrs. Edwards said there were a few factors behind this move.
“We had Christmas in D-City last year at the Central Administration Complex which is now under construction. So therefore the yard that we used last year is full of trailers and materials so it was almost impossible for us to use that location.”
She continued: “And, then we had the road traffic turn around so there is one road really leading into the city and one and a half road leading out of the city. So we had to make a decision as to what we would be able to block off with the fact that the traffic needing to continue, we are heading into Christmas, things are getting busier so we needed to be sure that if we blocked a road it wouldn’t curtail all the activities in the city.”
She stated the other reason was to bring more commerce to the business community.
“The other reason is the business community cried out to us last year asking us why don’t you come a little closer to us, we want the support, we want to support you, we want you to support us and the business community is in the heart of the city and the heart of the city is in Shoreway Drive location.”
She said even if this road is blocked it would not cause traffic congestion in the city.
“So the move, it was not an easy move, it was a hard move for us to decide on. There were other factors that impacted that move but in the final analysis, we were given permission to block that road. I think the move will be a good move and we are hoping that we can stay there for a little while.”
Entertainment
The two-day event will have a number of performances.
Commencing on Friday, Althea Scatliffe Drum Corps will provide entertainment from about 4 pm to 5 pm followed by a fashion show by UMI.
There will be performances by the Adagio Dance Group and DC Four Strong Int. Band will close off the night.
On Saturday, the Althea Scatliffe Primary School dancers, fungi band and junior choir are slated to perform, as well as Zion Sounds and Leon and the Hot Shots.
The event will also have a brief ceremony on Friday to celebrate persons with disabilities in light of World Disabilities Day.
