Ian HIND

Spectacular events – that put Bermuda on display in all her glory have been happening more and more frequently in recent years. RG Magazine took a look back at some of the exciting community and sporting events to grace our shores over the past 20 years, highlighting the Island’s beauty, local talent, skill and resilience

2000

Smithsonian FolkLife
Festival
At the start of the New Millennium, this festival showcased Bermudian culture. It provided a unique opportunity for the Island’s cultural practitioners to connect with visitors and locals alike. The experience sparked both research and conversation on Bermuda’s unique cultural expression and the preservation of such. In light of this, oral interviews with the Island’s most knowledgeable tradition bearers on a wide range of topics such as food, language, buildi

2008

National Heroes Day
For over a decade now, Bermuda has recognised its national heroes through a special holiday, held on the third Monday of every June. It’s the capstone of National Heroes Weekend, which is a carnival-like festival that begins the Friday before National Heroes Day and has been coined “the world’s fastest-growing Carnival”. Originally, this holiday was held in October, but it was later moved to June.

2009

Bermuda’s 400th
Anniversary Celebrations
In honour of the founding and settlement of the Island, many events were held this year, including a re-enactment of the landing of the survivors from the Sea Venture on the beach next to Fort St Catherine. The Bermuda Monitory Authority also issued commemorative coins in recognition of the national milestone.

2015-2017

The America’s Cup
The Island counted itself lucky when a decision was made to host a leg of the 2015-16 America’s Cup World Series here in Bermuda. Then, when organisers determined they would hold the 35th America’s Cup World Championship final in Bermuda at the expense of San Diego, it shook the sailing world. The event was held in June 2017 and was hugely successful. Who can forget the sight of those 50’ catamarans raised on foils racing across the Great Sound at speeds in excess of 20 knots?

2018

ITU World
Triathlon Bermuda
Thank you, Flora Duffy! Although Bermuda has had its own athletes competing in triathlon events elsewhere (Jim Butterfield 7th in the 1981 Ironman World Championship), it took Bermuda’s own World Champion to commit the ITU to hold three of its World Series events in Bermuda starting in April 2018. In October 2021, Bermuda will also host the end of year World Championship with thousands of athletes and their supporters expected to attend.

2019

PGA
From 2009-2014, Bermuda hosted the now-defunct PGA Grand Slam of Golf, featuring the year’s four major winners. This past June, the PGA Tour announced the addition of the Bermuda Championship to the 2019-2020 schedule. The match was played at the stunning Port Royal Golf Course (just four weeks after a major hurricane), from October 31st – November 3rd and was won by Brendon Todd.

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Thursday, April 26

What: World Triathlon Harbour Nights. Where: Front Street, Hamilton. When: 7pm to 11pm

The weekend’s festivities begins with the official opening of the MS Amlin World Triathlon Bermuda, featuring a special triathlon-themed Harbour Nights Pasta Party that will take place in the heart of the event venue on Front Street. This will be the public’s first look at the venue and the World Triathlon Expo, with the street alive with music, visiting athletes enjoying local cuisine and each vendor offering a ‘carb’ meal option, a tradition for athletes before a big event.

Friday, April 27

What: Tokio Millennium Re Kids Race. Where: Front Street, Hamilton. When: 7pm to 9pm

Friday night will again see Front Street filled with crowds to cheer on local and visiting young athletes in the Tokio Millennium Re (TMR) Kids Race at 7pm. This will be a duathlon, open to children aged 7 to 15 to run and bike along Front Street, using part of the same race course that the world’s top triathletes will race on the following day, including the famous blue carpet finish.

Saturday, April 28

What: Race day. Where: Hamilton. When: All day.

Age Group Races, Olympic Distance and Sprint Distance. First wave, 6.45am

Elite Men – 1.06pm

Elite Women – 4.06pm

Triathlon Expo, No 5 Car Park, Front Street, 7am to 6pm

What: Digicel Feather Mile & Street Party. Where: Front Street, Hamilton, When: 9pm to 12pm

Bermuda Heroes Weekend fans and party-goers are invited to strut their stuff in a Carnival-style Street Party on Front Street after the Kids Race. It kicks off at 9pm with the Digicel Feather Mile, a joyful untimed run or walk to music, followed by a party until midnight. This free public event is a prelude to Bermuda Heroes Weekend and all Carnival bands are encouraged to participate.

Sunday, April 29

What: Hangover swim. Where: TBD. When: 9am to 12pm

Locals will have a chance to mix and mingle with visiting athletes at a public beach for a casual gathering where competitors will relax after their hard work the day before.

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The Chef Competition kicked off last Wednesday, October 17,  in a stunning setting at Fort Hamilton with the First round. Elizabeth Blankendal and Mohamed Elfeky went head-to-head in an appetizer showdown. They each had to use the five ingredients provided – shrimp, coconut milk, peppers, beets and butternut squash. On Thursday, in Round Two, three more chefs – Antonio Belvedere, Marcella Smith and Ibrahim Elassal took on an entrée challenge using lobster, feta cheese, onions, spinach and sweet potato.

Ticket holders to the two preliminary rounds were provided with samples of the dishes as the chefs led a live demonstration of their recipes. A welcome cocktail and wines served with dinner were provided by Goslings. Each chef was allocated thirty minutes to prepare and plate their meal and fifteen minutes to clean their work area. Judges allocated points to each dish based on taste/flavor, creativity, use of ingredients and presentation.

The winning chefs from the first two rounds, Elizabeth Blankendal and Ibrahim Elassal, moved on to the third and final round, the Dessert challenge, on Saturday night.

Guests on Saturday were treated to a 4-course dinner provided by MEF/Fourways Catering. Accompanying the meal were a selection of rums, courtesy of Bacardi, to complement each course. The chefs were challenged to create desserts for the final course, again using five compulsory ingredients. The competition was fierce but it was ultimately Ibrahim Elassal from Fairmont Southampton that was declared the victor.

On Friday night, the Bacardi Bartender Competition got underway at Bacardi Headquarters. Five local bartenders – Matt Francis, Ryan Gibbons, Kazim Muhammed, Keishaun Majors and Sula Foggo all brought their A-game to the table and wowed a packed house with their impressive skills. Judges graded the competitors on visual appeal, balance of flavors and taste, creativity/originality, inventive use of ingredients, use of sponsors brands, knowledge and accuracy of recipe, ability under pressure and time of production.

The judges were so impressed with each creation that there were only mere points between the winning cocktail and its competition but it was Matt Francis, representing The Blind Pig

Cocktail Co. that walked away with the top prize – $400 in cash from the City of Hamilton and a trip to Puerto Rico to visit one of the Bacardi distilleries. Matt’s winning concoction, the Mellow Season, is a delicious medley of Bacardi 10, lime, strawberry, black pepper syrup, egg white with a vanilla sugar rim.

The City of Hamilton would like to thank all of the contributing sponsors of this year’s fall Food Festival as well as all of the judges and volunteers that participated and lent their support.

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The all-inclusive event featured DJ’s Kevin Crown, DJ Chubb, Willy Chin and DJ Byte and took place on The Lawn in Dockyard.

Photographs by Rajan Simons

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From 5 Star Friday, to Raft-up, Pan in the Park, Pure all white and the Parade of Bands – we did it all.

[videogallery id=”BHW 2018″]

Planning on going to carnival in 2019? Click here for tips and tricks on how to prepare for 5 days of non-stop fete’in.

Photos by Akil Simmons & Blaire Simmons

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Looking for something to do this weekend? Then why not check out the BODHI company’s production collectivelyHER at the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium.
The performance, which will be held in aid of the island’s single mothers, features Bermuda’s first and only all female-adult professional dance company.

Made up of women from all walks of life, the troupe strives to empower and encourage themselves and other women through dance.

Part of the proceeds from the show will go towards sponsoring a single mother and her family for the holiday season. Tickets can be found at ptix.bm, and the evening begins with cocktails at 7.30pm.

Books

We all have that one family member or friend that simply loves to read. It does not matter what it is, be it a trashy beach read or the next Booker Prize winner, nothing escapes their clutches. Here, then, are some suggestions for what to buy the book worm in your life.

Roomies, by Christina Lauren, is the story of a marriage of convenience that becomes decidedly inconvenient when the two main protagonists, Holland Bakker, a New Yorker, and Calvin McLoughlin, a musician in the country illegally, discover they actually like each other.

For something with a little bit more action in it, the End Game, by David Baldacci, is the fifth novel featuring Will Robbie and Jessica Reel, two government assassins who find themselves facing a domestic threat they never saw coming.

Gadgets

If you’re a techie on the move and looking to add to your green credentials then look no farther than this, the OjO Smart Electric Commuter Scooter.

With a top speed of 20mph (32km/h), and a range of 25 miles with one charge, it might not be ideal if you live in Somerset or St George’s, but it will make getting around town a breeze. It also doesn’t need a licence.

Check out brostrick.com for a look at some of the best tech gifts of 2017.

Movies

Do you care that the next installment of Star Wars is just around the corner? We think you probably do.

There isn’t much longer to wait before we find out if Luke Skywalker is (spoiler alert) Rey’s father. Or how about a mammoth plot twist where it turns out Rey is actually a Solo and Kylo Ren is her brother? Mind blown.

This works if you consider that Luke and Princess Leia were siblings, and as Leia’s son it is not beyond reason that Ren also has a sister. Even if it’s wrong, it’s not the wildest Star Wars theory out there at the moment.

Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi is due on our screens on December 15, but until then here are several other films that will demand your attention.

For every Look Who’s Talking in John Travolta’s résumé there is a Pulp Fiction, and fortunately this Christmas is one of the good ones. Gotti, out December 15, charts the rise of notorious mob boss John Gotti with Travolta in the title role.

If you’re looking for something a little more family-friendly, then Downsizing (December 22), a Matt Damon comedy, or The Greatest Showman (Christmas Day), with Hugh Jackman, are both worth a look.

This article was featured in the December 2017, RG Winter Magazine.

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That is the main lesson Bermuda Heroes Weekend (BHW) president Jason Sukdeo learned from the inaugural event last year.

While overjoyed with the success of the 2015 BHW, Mr Sukdeo (aka D’General) said: “The biggest lesson we learned was to always plan for the unplanned. In order to ensure the success of the event, plans for every possible scenario are needed. When the unexpected happens, and it will, we can easily adapt and implement a well thought-out plan.”

Mr Sukdeo, who for years has had a vision of a carnival in Bermuda and has now seen it come to fruition, said making sure everything goes right can be stressful.

“As with any event there are definitely challenges that we face,” he said. “A good plan will definitely reduce the stress level and we have put in motion a good plan that we believe all spectators, patrons and participants will enjoy. Our main concern is the safety of the patrons. We are doing as much as we can to ensure the event is safe and enjoyed. ”

Mr Sukdeo knew that a carnival would be popular in Bermuda but was taken aback when it kicked off last year with a huge turnout on Front Street when soca bands played before a crowd of about 5,000.

“Last year was a huge success. The entire team was thrilled with the large number of attendees at each event, and the positive feedback we received. We are looking forward to more positive results for 2016.”

And while the thousands of people had a rip-roaring time in 2015, the 36-year-old DJ, who got his nickname because he likes to run things, had to stay on an even keel. “I had to stay sober and I had to stay focused,” he said after last year’s event. “I knew people would be curious but I wasn’t expecting that many people. I felt pride.”

Mr Sukdeo said planning for this year’s event “started even before 2015 BHW had started! Consequently, we have already started planning for 2017.

“This year we have added two new events — the Bermuda Heroes Weekend Launch Party that took place in November and our first ever Kiddie Carnival (which was held earlier this month). We are also using new venues that will improve on last year’s events.”

In 2015 he travelled to Miami, New York and Boston to promote the event and to get visitors to come down to Bermuda for the four-day party.

To promote this year’s carnival, he said they travelled to Barbados for last year’s Crop Over and “our team also promoted (BHW) in Trinidad for their carnival, and attended events in Toronto and New York.”

Last year more than 200 visitors came down for BHW. This year Mr Sukdeo expects more as a result of positive word of mouth.

“We are definitely aiming for additional visitors. We have a target of 400 visitors for 2016.”

The costumes at the carnival are a big draw and Mr Sukdeo said: “BHW Ltd provides bands the opportunity to enter the parade and showcase their product — costumes. This year we have eight bands participating in the ‘Parade of Bands’. Each band has their own costumes and have sourced them both locally and overseas. We are expecting to have close to 2,000 people on the road for the parade in both costumes and T-shirts.”

What Bermuda does differently from any other carnival is the final day’s Raft Up; last year it proved to be one of the most fun events.

“The Raft Up was very popular because it was different to the regular carnival schedule. It was something most visitors are not accustomed to seeing. To combine our beautiful waters, with a carnival truck playing soca music is something most soca fans would travel for — and they are doing so.”

The Raft Up this year will be off Morgan’s Point which is the operational base of Swedish America’s Cup challenger Artemis Racing. Mr Sukdeo said: “It would be great to have the America’s Cup folks out to enjoy the festivities as well. We’ll be in their backyard!”

Also this year BHW Ltd will be launching their first ever BHW2016 smartphone app.

“We encourage everyone to download BHW2016. The BHW2016 app will provide you updates on all the events, including those being hosted by various promoters. Another piece of advice is to purchase tickets early to avoid disappointment.”

What does he envisage Heroes Weekend becoming in 10 years’ time?

Mr Sukdeo said: “Our vision for the next 10 years is showing Bermuda the benefits of a carnival-based tourism product. Our goal is to have accommodations sold out, all forms of transportation options maxed out and other hospitality-based businesses flourishing as a result of the increase in visitors. We also want to see carnival-based businesses such as Mas Bands and promoters executing their plans and seeing returns on their investments from both local spending and international visitors.”

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