Virtual Bermuda Festival Raises $6,000
The Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts announced that $6,000 was raised to be “split equally between supporting the Festival and supporting the Coalition for Protection of Children’s ‘Breakfast for Every Child’ programme.”
A spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts survived the pandemic due to the support and generosity of its faithful benefactors. As a way to give back to the community, and to provide cultural entertainment, the Festival embarked on a free fully virtual Festival in 2021.
“Thirteen different shows were produced covering the artistic genres of Dance, Classical, Jazz, Spoken Word, Film, Broadway, Theatre and Popular Music.
“In all, the virtual Festival presented 17 Bermudians residing in seven different countries, including Bermuda, plus a few non-Bermudians for shows and their student Outreach programmes. Over 12,000 people joined in to watch the virtual Festival shows.”
Mariya Tsitron, Project and Marketing Manager, and David Skinner, Chairman, from the Bermuda Festival followed by Kelly Hunt, Executive Director, and Stephany Outerbridge, Life Coach and Program Facilitator, from the Coalition for the Protection of Children
Executive Director Cindy Campbell said, “The Festival knew that we had been blessed to survive and we wanted to use our virtual platform to help alleviate the food insecurity on the island caused by the pandemic.”
With the launch of its virtual Festival it also launched the “Feed Your Soul, Feed Bermuda” campaign which was promoted on every virtual show, and the Festival announced that $6,000 was raised to be split equally between supporting the Festival and supporting the Coalition for Protection of Children’s “Breakfast for Every Child” programme.
Kelly Hunt, Executive Director of the Coalition for the Protection of Children commented, “The CPC is extremely grateful to have the support of the Festival of the Performing Arts. We appreciate all of the patrons, artists and coordinators who made this a reality despite the challenges of Covid-19.
“The importance of helping families who are struggling with the stress of food insecurity was highlighted throughout this celebration of talent. We are thankful for the Festival’s awareness of this issue, donation to the cause, and for everyone in the community who has assisted during these difficult times.”
A spokesperson added, “In addition to providing free virtual shows, the Festival continued one of the most important features of the Festival which is its cultural Outreach programmes to students. These programmes enhance the cultural education of our youth by introducing students to both artists and different genres of performing arts.
“In 2021, the Outreach programme was also completely virtual and included Threatre, Jazz, Classical, Shakespeare, Broadway and the history and development of Reggae. Over 750 public and private students attended a virtual Outreach session.
Patricia Nesbitt said, “The 2021 Bermuda Festivals Outreach Program provided a realistic opportunity for students to virtually engage, converse and perform with real world practitioners. It was easy for students to give laser attention to the workshop with few distractions in their school groups.
“What was personally exciting to me was the caveat of seeing Bermudians like Rebecca Faulkenberry talking about her personal auditioning experiences for Broadway plays and movies. This gives students hope for continuing to strive to ‘make it’ too.”
“The Bermuda Festival wants to take this opportunity to thank all of the Foundations, Corporations and Patrons that believe in the Mission of the Festival and continued their support over the last two years. The Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts will celebrate its 47th year in 2022,” a spokesperson added.
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