The 6th Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival is returning to St Maarten on 4-5 November 2016. The one of a kind event is an expo of rum & beer beverages, combined with the 2016 CAB Taste Contest, workshops, cooking demos, cocktail competitions, rum & beer seminars, music, entertainment and pure fun.
“This will be our second year here in St Maarten.” Explained Festival Director Ms Cheryl Collymore, “Last year our exhibitors and patrons were so enthusiastic about how everything had come together that we just knew we had to come back to this amazing island. We are excited to be back and will be adding new activities such as an evening of rum and gastronomy at a local restaurant, the ‘Rum & Cigar’ zone and the ‘Chocolate, rum & beer pairing’ segment.”
Since the Festivals inception in 2010, the Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival has showcased the depth of quality rum and beers from the Caribbean and beyond. With its onsite seminars presented by world renowned rum & beer professionals, the event allows patrons to better appreciate the complexities and the uniqueness of the over 100 rum & beer products on offer at the event.
For 2016 the Festival will be bringing an additional selection of exhibitors including Rhum Agricole producers from Guadeloupe and Martinique and a selection of regional traditional and craft beers. The location for the event will be at what the organisers have nick-named ‘Festival Village’ in Cayhill, Philipsburg.
Operations Director Dr Glyn Williams commented, “In our experience the Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival is best suited to an outdoor venue, so this year we are setting up a tented village for the 2 days of the event; Our exhibitors will have more space, we can expand our food court area, have more public seating and allow for a greater throughput of visitors.”
In the run up to the event the Festival organisers have been in discussions with both the St Maarten Tourism Bureau and the St Martin Tourist Office to promote the event to the international market to attract long stay visitors to the island. Hosting the Festival in St Maarten means an increase in global media attention and arrivals from exhibitors, trade representatives, international rum & beer VIP judges and visitors who are excited to attend the festival in a beautiful Caribbean island.
Ms. Collymore stated “We recognise how the Caribbean Rum & Beer Festival brings significant benefits to the host country, and we are pleased to work closely with a number of local stakeholders with the intention of making this year’s Festival the biggest and most entertaining yet.”
“For 2016 we will also be raising funds for the Rotary Club of St Martin Sunrise. During both days of the Festival there will be onsite activities specifically aimed at collecting monies to contribute to the numerous community projects undertaken by the Rotary Club in its excellent work with the island’s youth.”
For more information visit the website www.rumandbeerfestival.com