St Vincent launches ‘Road to 50’ campaign for Vincy Mas 2027 in New York
Carnival and government officials told the diaspora that the 50th anniversary festival must be bigger, and urged them to bring friends home.
NEW YORK, United States. Officials from St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Carnival Development Corporation (CDC), Ministry of Culture and Department of Diaspora Affairs launched the “Road to 50” campaign for Vincy Mas 2027 in New York on 14 and 15 August.
The kick-off took place at the St Vincent and the Grenadines Consulate General on the Friday and at the Vincy Day USA picnic the following day.
“While we are satisfied with what was achieved in 2026, we are not satisfied to simply repeat it,” said CDC deputy chairman Colin Graham. “We believe Vincy Mas 2027 can and must be bigger, stronger, and better.”
He said the new board understood that the CDC itself must “adjust, evolve and sometimes do things differently”, and urged corporate St Vincent to view carnival “through the much wider lens of national development”.
“We don’t only want you to come home,” Graham told the diaspora. “We want you to be ambassadors for Vincy Mas.”
Government backing
Culture Minister Kaschaka Cupid said 2027 would mark 50 years since the festival moved to June and July. “Carnival is not simply entertainment; it is an important economic and tourism product,” he said.
“Save the date. Book early. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Come home to St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” he said.
Diaspora registration
Sharon Jones, senior adviser for Diaspora Affairs, said the department had launched an official Diaspora Registration QR code at the picnic, to collect details such as where nationals live, their home communities and professional expertise.
Richard MacLeish, US director of the SVG Tourism Authority, said Vincentians abroad and their circles were “among our highest-converting visitors”.
Consul General Roland “Patel” Matthews urged people to “return home, celebrate and support local artistes and businesses”.
Atiba Williams, chair of the New York Vincy Mas Launch Committee, said the livestream had been “excellent, because we wanted to get the word out for jump-starting the ‘Road to 50’”.
