Pirates’ daysare numbered

| 04/07/2009

(CNS): Speaking for the first time publicly since his declaration in a May church service that he intended to rename the longstanding annual Pirates Week festival, Leader of Government Business McKeeva Bush said he not only planned to change the name of the event but also its content. He said he wanted to see more emphasis on Cayman’s sea faring history. “It’s had its day,” said Bush, adding that times have changed and people now question what relationship Cayman has with piracy.

Bush said at the new government’s first press briefing on Thursday that Pirates Week hardly brings any tourists now and there needed to be more meaning to the festival. “I want to see more school children involved,” he added, saying it should be depicting things Caymanian, although he said the pirates would not be banned but would no longer be the central theme. He suggested having replicas of tall ships and turtle boats landing instead of pirates tearing people up.

While acknowledging that the pirates theme was fun and colourful and may have meaning for some people associated with it, he said it had other connotations that the country did not need at this time. He said it had nothing to do with the church but was to do with the country as a whole and its image.

Although a name has not been settled, the LoGB indicated he preferred something along the lines of cultural or heritage week. He denied that he had thought up the idea of change on the spot but that for several years Pirates Week had not added value to the tourism product and there were a number of ideas and proposals on the table.

When the news first broke that the government was re-thinking the Pirates Week Festival a few days following the election, a number of people appeared to offer support but those involved in the tourism industry began questioning the wisdom.

The Cayman Islands Tourism Association also told CNS last month that its members are concerned over the loss of the “Pirates Week" name because it has gained momentum with visitors over the years and gives a real boost to business during a slow time — particularly the restaurants and bars.

Trina Christian said that CITA members would certainly be interested in engaging in the discussion that may result. She said it was important to consider that while the "promotion" of pirates has been up for discussion for many years, the concern that has now arisen with merging "pirates" into a new name change, such as Cultural Heritage Week, is that it may give further association to pirates and local heritage,which is not the outcome people were looking for. “We look forward to being able to discuss this topic with the new minister so that any changes or enhancements can be coordinated to achieve successful results,” Christian stated on behalf of the members.

The Seattle Seafair Pirates also spoke with told CNS recently and expressed their disappointment over the name change. “The whole idea of Pirates Week was to bring the tourist to Cayman in the down season, and it worked,” said Mark Jensen, a spokesperson for the service club which has helped to boost Pirates week over the years. The Seattle Pirates say the festival has attracted huge numbers of visitors to the island during what is considered the quietest part of the season.

“Changing the name will have a detrimental impact even if the events remained the same,” Jensen told CNS. “The success of Pirates Week is unquestionable and we cannot understand why it would be changed when it’s working. Over the years the numbers have increased for Pirates Week to the point where you can’t get a hotel room now during that week, which is exactly what it was meant to do. I am interested to understand what the government is trying to accomplish here. The festival was designed to attract tourists and that is what it did. Excuse the pun but the name is a hook which attracts visitors.”

Jensen, who is himself an event planner by trade, noted that taking away the name would be a serious marketing mistake. He said that the fun pirate theme, which his organisation uses, attracts positive attention not negative, and has nothing to do with the terrorists that some people now refer to as pirates operating off the coast of East Africa.

Mary Trumbach, daughter of the late Jim Bodden, the national hero who founded Pirates Week, told The Caymanian Compass recently that she was “livid over the decision”, both for personal reasons and for the business dependent on Pirates Week. “I’m extremely annoyed,” she stated.

Her father started the festival over 30 years ago, having been approached by local businesses and hoteliers about doing something for the slower period of tourist season. She said Pirates Week has been extremely successful year after year and it has helped out local businesses, especially smaller vendors. “Changing the name is an insult to my father’s memory and to me and my family,” she said.

Digicel told CNS on Monday, 8 June, that it would continue its support of the annual festival regardless. “Digicel has been a proud sponsor of the festival for the last 3 years, as part of our efforts to promote Caymanian heritage and culture,” said Victor Corcoran, CEO Digicel Cayman. “The title of the festival, whilst relevant to the program, remains under the management of the organizing committee.  Digicel has embraced this national celebration and will continue to do so through its support of the decision by the Cayman Islands Cultural Festival committee.”

So far the Department of Tourism, the Pirates Week Committee and the Tourism Attraction Board have not offered any official comment on the change or what will happen regarding this week’s festival but the Pirates Week website for this year’s festival between 12-22 November is already live with the majority of the events already listed.

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  1. DJones says:

    Come to Orlando and see how well "Bible Land" is doing?After playing Jesus the actor can be seen serving hamburgers from the grill.

    Why "fix" something that is not broke?

    I NEVER thought I was worshiping pirates.  Only it was a festival to kick off the island’s winter season.  But I sure enjoyed the events at each district for their heritage.  And the dance that used to to take over a main street with a band at each end=that was the BEST.

    I have been your dedicated visitor since 1982.  Brought over 25 friends to discover the Cayman Islands.  Prob arranged over 100 visitors with housing and air plans(no not my real job).  Did it to help them see my fave island.

    I haveto admit-I changed my plans about two weeks ago.  I always try to visit the Pirates week and be there for the landing.  Dressed accordingly and for fun.  I was never drunk-or rude.  Enjoyed all the children’s big eyes looking at everything going by them. 

    I am staying in US.  Taking a train from New Orleans to California.  Then a train all the way up the California coast. 

    Not the same-I will miss the people of Cayman.

     

    I guess all good things do come to an end.

    DRJ

     

     

     

     

  2. Anonymous says:

    CNS — i posted a comment about an infamous pirate that lines the streets of George Town who has a very perverse name.  Why would you not post that?  If the name is too bad to put on CNS it only proves my point that his name should not be all over George Town.  Maybe I just didn’t click save?!?!

    The Big XXXX XXXXX pirate can be seen in front of Island Companies flagship store and the Grotto store under Breezes. 

    I was just trying to make a simple point to Mr McKeeva and his friends who get away with everything.

  3. anonymous says:

    This my friends has nothing to do with the Churches…..this is all about an idea that is being sold to Mac behind the scenes that will provide desirable kick-backs! Tall ships?? give me a break!! Wonder what part of our history they are attached to…..watch as the story unfolds…..Mac has it all set up under the table!

  4. What the Heck? says:

    I’ll be the first one in line to get my postcards stamped from "Heck", Grand Cayman. Where is the regualtory authority for all these "churches" being set up in strip malls and back yards? They all need to be charged a business licence fee and a percentage of their weekly collections in order to be allowed to operate their businesses here in the Cayman Islands

  5. Anonymous says:

    "It should be pointed out that the piratical element is a very very small percentage of the 10 days of activities, namely the landing, part of the parade and the trial of the pirates. While Pirates Week was started for the tourists, it has become a festival for our people"

    Considering Pirates weeks starts on a Friday night with fireworks and a street dance, Saturday is the landing, street food & dance, Sunday is fun runs etc, however the actual "heritage days" are during the week days when the locals should be in work (unless they have decided to give us all the week off work and I didn’t know about it), I don’t really see where this becomes a heritage week "for our people" . These Heritage/District days start at mid-day and by 5pm when the locals can actually get to them, all the "Heritage" aspect of the day has finished, you are welcomed with a street dance by a band that isn’t even local!!!!

     

  6. Spirit of '66 says:

    I let my children go on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney.  Twice,  Does that make me a bad parent?  Will they grow up to be Somalian pirates?  Have I condemned them to Hell?  What should I do?  How many feet of thatch rope will I need to make as penance?

    Pirates Week was a brilliant tool to invent some romanticism and fictional history into a place which, it has to be said, has little by way of interesting history or culture unless you were born and bred here.   

    Nottingham marketed Robin Hood to bring in the tourists.  I not aware of Nottinghamshire as a hotbed of wealth redistribution through the medium of carjacking.

  7. Anonymous says:

    All the talk of how many tourists Pirates Week brings to Cayman is pure assumption.  Sometime ago the Pirates Week administration did some research into tourist arrivals immediately before and during the festival and found that there was in fact no spike in the arrival numbers. Tourists discovered Pirates while here but did not travel specifically to attend it.

    The real economic  benefit of Pirates Week is the money generated from local sources through the sale of food, drink, costumes and materials for floats and heritage days and the event related industry.

    To the person who said we are descended from pirates – wrong. By the time the first settlers came to Cayman the days of piracy were done. Check out "Founded Upon the Seas- A History of the Cayman Islands and Their People".

    For sure the pirate theme provides a colourful and dramatic backdrop to the festival, something lacking in our traditions. It should be pointed out that the piratical element is a very very small percentage of the 10 days of activities, namely the landing, part of the parade and the trial of the pirates. While Pirates Week was started for the tourists, it has become a festival for our people. People have always needed festivals. To truely be a national festival the festival must be rooted in the people. Maybe Pirates week has taken root. But of course culture and cultural elements evolve. And the right person with enough creativity and imagination could very well improve on what we’ve got while celebrating our heritage. Once we have good music, rum(and our forefathers loved rum) and fireworks we can party.

     

  8. Anonymous says:

    Oh boy, here we go as predicted! The dictatorship is on the horizon. No more fun allowed! CAYMAN HERITAGE WEEK – that ought to bring in a few thousand tourists from around the world. I mean what else would they want to spend their free time and money on doing. I would say let’s do away with Jazz fest too. Instead we should put on a weeklong event featuring locat artists and church choirs only! That should motivate another few thousand people to travel across the globe!

    In times where every other tourist destination is looking how they can attract more people or lowering their prices, McKeeva chooses to run the other way. Guess we don’t need the tourists. Rolling them in on a cruise ship and dragging them to a filthy and unattractive turtle farm should be enough to discourage them from every visiting again……. 

  9. Anonymous says:

    Salting the earth

    Christians are called to be the ‘salt of the earth’ ! In Cayman the Christian are salting the earth as was done in anciant times to starve their victims.

    Wake up people of Cayman and end the power of the churches before they damn these islands to being third world beggers.

    • Anonymous says:

      "Christians are called to be the ‘salt of the earth’ ! In Cayman the Christian are salting the earth as was done in anciant times to starve their victims".

      Please take some time to understand the meaning of the phrase before posting. Salt is used as a preservative – to prevent something from rotting, and to enhance flavour. As light we must bear witness to God’s standards for righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.    

      • Maryland says:

        Hi All

        I had the pleasure to visit your island last year during pirates week and I must say that I didnt find anything special about it. Your island is beautiful but I found that it lacked a lot of culture and heritage so perhaps this change may not be so bad. I struggled to find places and things that were "Caymanian". To be honest, I am not sure if I even saw a Caymanian. We visited the agriculture grounds and that was the nearest we got to learning about the Caymanian culture. Coming from the U.S., I do not wish to travel to beautiful places in the caribbean to see pirates, dolphins or mini disney worlds. I want to see something different….something unique.  To the poster who said that the Caymanian culture is boring…I am sure that is not true. It may be boring to you but to an outsider it might be a fascinating experience. Be proud of who you are. If you do not appreciate your culture then no one else will. Perhaps I will visit again this year to see what changes have taken place and what I can learn about the Cayman Islands and its people.

         

         

        • Twyla M Vargas says:

          HELLO MARY LAND of USA

          Thanks you so much that you  chose to visit the Cayman Islands as one of your holiday destinations, and I must agree with your comments concerning the "Name change" from Pirates Week.   I am a Caymanian who have taken part in this event from the day it first began.  Most Caymanians are not happy with the imitation of chopping up and sword fiting displays, neither are we happy about the Pirates costumes.   We complained  each year, but still engaged in the activities, hoping that each year it would change.

          I am very happy that it is about to be changed, but those who are in authority to make this happen need to encourage the Pirates Week office  and private companies not to import and sell these items which we are trying to get rid of.

          You are absolutely correct that  that there is not much "Caymanian to see".  Further more as a Caymanian I would go as far as to say "Cayman is boring"   What is there really of good interest  to feel it was a dollar well spent.  Caymanians should be encouraged to be creative with foods, art, dance and songs,  plays, week end story telling on the radios.  You mean to tell me that of all the smart people we have here living on this yaw Island,  expatriates and all, we cant come up with a soul who can set up an Island TV  Soap opera for once a week showing, at least to begin with.   . 

          We should be inviting the schools to take more parts in heritage days.  They have some talented students  that is unbeliveable.   You know something.  The Representatives in each district need to pay more attention to making their district the best..   Find persons who can set up a committee in organizing good entertainment culture activities for your districts.  Too many promises have been made in the past 20 years and the same old, same old, every year.   The last time Bodden Town District won a First Prize at Pirates week was when I had a group headed up in the 19 eighties.  We were always winning float parades.  Bodden Town The Birth of Democracy should be offering more to our visitors.  With the name change I do hope that Residents take an interest in bringing back culture events of the past.  Good ones.  Instead of dresssing like a pirate, dress like an oldtimer.   It is so much more beautiful.  The men in wompers and sun hats,  and the women in long dresses with hats and children in knickers.  Old time foods, cakesand pies, Art and antiques on display.  Junkanoo in the streets.   This is what the visitor want to see.   Simply, Pirates week has become a money making venture in the past years, and my final comments would be "I am happy to see everything about the swashbuckling changed"   Let us see what we can do about this year making a whole difference.   I know we can do it.  So let us go for it.

          Blessed

  10. Anonymous says:

    Heritage Week Kicks Off!!!

    By The Government "You Dont Get To Know How Much We Make" Service

    Tens of people gathered at the edge of Hogsty bay yesterday to witness the awe shucks inspiring site of nine, er, eight, catboats paddling in as the first ever Heritage Week made its inaguaral vist into the hearts of Pastor Al Ebanks, our Glorious Leader and about 30 loyal Rooster Radio call in regulars. After nearly half an hour of paddling over the surf the elderly catboaters emerged from their boats in victorious fashion and quickly got to work making thatch rope while onlookers cheered them on.

    The men then handed the rope making chore to the women and jumped aboard a US merchant ship and headed to ports of call like San Fransico, Houston and Miami and are set to return just in time for next year’s festival.

    As per the new tradition of Heritage Week 90 percent of tourists were flown to Aruba, Trinidad, Jamaica and the Bahamas prior to the festivals start. By press time we were told they were having an "amazing" time and had notified the Ministry of Tourism that they would not be needing any return tickets.

    Hon. and Fearless Leader Mckeeva "Quarter-Pounder" Bush hailed the savings of the return tickets as a godsend and proceeded to cancel the Cayman Jazz Festival and replace it with the Cayman Bible Hymn Festival based on the success of the Heritage Festival. However no local acts are scheduled as of late.

    The remaning tourists from the United States, Canada and Great Brittain watched from thier perch at Strawberry Daquriville, Windy’s and the Light Rock Cafe as the Heritage Week below garned a euphoric sense of Caymanian pride. This was especially true when the traditional long winded prayer fest began, giving god thanks for not smiting the island territory with fire and brimstone for permitting tempting pelivic girations at the island’s favorite cultural club, 2nd Floor.

    The school children and their McKeeva Youth leaders rejoiced during their parade downtown  ignoring the heathen drunkards spending a weeks pay at Mr. Toads and ScrewdriverHeads. The children then proceeded to condemn past governments for trying to build them a 21st Century school where they might actually be inspired to escape their forefathers middle managment career ceiling.

    But things were not complete until night’s end when the traditional burning of the flags of all the nations of the world commenced along with the entire collection of Harry Potter books for good measure. It was a fun time for all Natural Born Caymanians who took thier time berrating those tratiorious paper Caymanians and Jamaican status holders for introducing the Dutty Wine to Cayman along with the relaxation and hunger inducing narcotic, Ganja. Also all chicken, beef and veggie patties were tossed into the Spotts Bay as part of the Patty Party.

    Perhaps the most poignant moments came when The Turlle Farm charged islanders $15 CI for a swim in their concrete lagoon and overcooked cheeseburgers and when Cayman Airways unvieled their brand new (to the island) twin engined DC-9 that remarkably has not caught fire since 1986 when it was recomended to be put out of service by the FAA. Cayman Airways announced the procurement as proof of its on going effort to make sure the sister islands are served with the very best aircraft the 1950’s had to offer, then half of the board quit to "take care of their families,"  as per tradition and the CEO took American Airways to Miami where he too had to take care of family "issues." In Cayman family always comes first, overseas territory second.

    Before the festival ends this week a few more events are planned which include sending all expatriot business investors back to their homes for a year so they can prove thier true love and loyalty by restarting their lives someplace else, pretending like the islands financial instutions have never helped the world’s richest people aviod paying taxes and in the end everyone will recieve refridgerators, microwave ovens and frozen turkeys*.

    *Offer not vaild in Cayman Brac, Little Cayman, North Side, East End and Bodden Town.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  11. Anonymous says:

    To the poster of "Forget these idiotic overgrown drunken schoolboys from Seattle", I am not sure if you are being sarcastic with your comments or not, however, the Seattle Pirates so not just come to Cayman to join in the festivities of the Pirates landing, they come here to help educate the children of this Island. They actually promote anti-drugs, they discuss the effects of drinking etc with the local schools. And just in case you didn’t know, when Paloma hit the Brac, they immediately raised a few thousand dollars (outside of Cayman I might add) towards helping with the rebuilding.

    I was born in these islands and Pirates week has always been one of the only recurring things that happens in the Cayman Islands that I can remember. I remember the fun it was dressing up in torn jeans and t-shirts and applying fake blood and scars I still enjoy it to this day. It is one thing that this Island offers that I hoped my kids would experience as well.

    Poor, Poor Cayman – Batabano isn’t much to write home about so why kill Pirates Week aswell

  12. One saddened Caymanian says:

    We need separation of church and state!!

    Churches will kill us. I am a christian but you have lost your place in these Islands when you started getting involved in politics. That is not what a church does. Know your role and stay in it.

    Big mac only wants more votes. I can only hope his antics will loose him more than he gains. He sometimes forgets that some of those church goers have businesses impacted by this.

     

     

    • Anonymous says:

      "We need separation of church and state!! Churches will kill us. I am a christian but you have lost your place in these Islands when you started getting involved in politics. That is not what a church does. Know your role and stay in it".

      Funny that, you don’t sound very much like a Christian. "Separation of Church and State" is a phrase that has got bandied around a lot lately. A misused metaphor from the American constitutional lexicon – it is taken as axiomatic to any democracy. The phrase itself it is often taken to mean that views based on religious values should find no expression in public affairs. Instead, the values of the unreligious and anti-religious should have exclusive domain of the public square. Religious voices should be confined to the space within the four walls of a church building. 

      Every Christian should know that Christians are called to be the ‘salt of the earth’ and the ‘light of the world’. We are not called in to blend in with the world lest our views offend. Our voices must be heard.  We are not called to be separate from the world, but to be in the world but not of the world. I don’t know what you think the church’s role is, but it is certainly not to be silent. It appears that it is you who have lost your place.        

  13. One saddened Caymanian says:

    I can only hope that we survive 4 years.

    This is what we get when we put people in charge with no business skills and knowledge.

    What amazes me is that West Bayers put him back in year after year even tho he always does something drastically stupid. I really can’t think of 4 years he has been in charge that we didn’t have some sort of controversy.

    I am only waiting for him to start pushing for independence so he can allign himself with Chavez whom I think his governmental style favors.

    I can only hope we can request a referendum and reverse what he is attempting.

     

     

    • Clearviewer says:

      Chavez of Venezeuela?  oh my God, lets hope that it will not go that far. but I must say Mr. Bush, you should have brought it to the people before you gave the churches your blessings and their way.  We know quite well that we are not pirates and we still go to church on sunday morning after the saturday night landing too, so to beleive that by keeping the name pirates week will damn us into damnation is just another way of the churches trying to inflick their opinion on all.

      We are normal intelligent people and what some of these self righteous people are telling us is that we do not know what is right from wrong. Well,we know better and I hope that my God would have mercy on all of you that feel that you are the authority on whats right or wrong.

      By changing the name from pirates week to please a few is not a wise move. Be careful Mr. Bush, these same people a lot of them will still hang you.

       

  14. Anonymous says:

    Cayman has got a poor and dated tourism product at best, why are we now getting rid of one of the highlights just to please some out-of-date religious brainwashing zealots.

    The festival is about people having fun and dressing up and going out and enjoying themselves. Nobody is going to come to see a couple of rotten turtle boats and there’s certainly nothing else of historical or cultural interest here unfortunately.

    Tourism is dying in Cayman, surely we need to hold onto something which encourages tourism?

  15. Your slowly losing my vote UDP... says:

    Apparently we are now living in a dictorial country. Where choices are made by one man and one man only. Especially when it’s evident that the majority of the people don’t want this name change to happen. This is what happens when a government is in control of all things possible. They get greedy and make stupid decisions that further jeapordise their peoples way of life.

  16. AnExPat says:

     

    The Cayman Islands needs to remember that to bring in outside visitors, it needs to have a product that appeals to those outside visitors, not an event that might appeal only to some Caymanians.

    I hope Mr. Mac will take heed of the views of tourists and those within the tourism industry as to what is best for this event.

    As for me, I love Pirates Week and usually I can pursuade some of my family or friends from overseas to come down and visit during the event. If it is changed to Heritate Week I think it will be a much harder sell.

    Pirates Week has been a successful festival for 30 years, everyone knows it and knows what it is about – it ain’t broke, so it does not need fixin’!

  17. Romantic Pirate says:

    It’s not a celebration of theft, murder and rape. It’s a romantic image of FREEDOM; even if it is wrong. Ending Pirates Week is as idiotic as ideas come.

    Once again the origins of this stupid idea have come from the churches. When will the people of Cayman wake up and close these places down. Almost all of Caymans ills can be traced back to them.
  18. Anonymous says:

    Take a look at what is downloaded off the internet – music, movies, games. All through available tools but if it is copyrighted material and someone downloads it without paying – it is Piracy.

    This happens daily in Cayman and copies are even made & sold in stores!

    How many of these do you own?

    But let’s change the name of a 30 year old festival – that makes sense. We’re all God fearing people, no pirates here!

  19. anonymous says:

    If it ain’t broke then why fix it???

    When you have posts from Caymanians saying that Cayman has a BORING history and they wouldn’t waste their time on a non-pirates week theme – guess that gotta tell ya something!!!

  20. A Concerned Bodden Towner says:

    MESSAGE TO McKEEVA BUSH:

    I am a young Caymanian.   Someone that actually voted for you.  However when I voted for you I did not vote in hopes that you would change the name of Pirates Week.  I voted for you so that you could change the downward spiral we were going.   Instead of doing this you are busy travellign signing papers and changing boards in government and renaming a 30 year tradition that has been aroung longer than I have lived my life.  You need to respect the people Mr. Bush.  Premiere Designate or Leader of Government Business does not make you President or Dictator of this island.   I understand that you are trying to please the churches but what income do they give to the island.  You got to realise that people come here for this event.  People that live here look out for this event.  I AM NOT GOING TO WASTE MY DAY TO WATCH A BUNCH OF CAT BOATS AND TURTLING BOATS come into Hog Sty Bay.  Are you out your mind?  Cultural Week?  Let me let you into a little something.  CAYMAN has a BORING culture.  We have no real history.  We are a boring people with a boring past of running from mosquitoes and thatching rope and turtling.  At least Pirates Week gives people some romantic imagination of what this island might had been like.  Pirates of the Caribbean….  Gotta love it.   DO NOT TAKE THAT FROM US.  You are not going to live forever Mr. Bush but Pirates Week can.   I will tell you this much.  You change the name of Pirates Week and this is one less vote you will get in the next election.

     

  21. Anonymous says:

    To the anonymous writer

    As a side note, those "drunken schoolboys from Seattle" helped raise over $50,000 to assist with hurricane relief last "Pirate’s Week".

     

  22. Anonymous says:

    Mr Bush is to be commended. Many of you Johnny-come-latelys and young Caymanians-born-recently have forgotten the great men and women who created this country based on solid, honest and decent values. These are the people who should be honoured since they were the ones who turned their back on the filthy culture of piracy and forged a righteous democracy in which you all participate today. You have had your vote and the majority rules. If you don’t like it, then wait till the next election. Hopefully there will be enough traditional Caymanians left to vote you down again.

    We do not want to descend into a society of filthy corruption as was demonstrated by the outrageous events of Batabano last year and the drunkenness of previous Pirates Weeks.

    If you think that eat, drink and be merry is all there is to life, then you are sorely deluded. Call us what you will, but many of us have settled it in our hearts that there is a gracious, generous God in heaven and we seek to honour Him with our lives. We have all been given the most precious gift of a life. What we do with it determines our eternal destiny. wake up and choose Light, not darkness.

  23. durrrr says:

    surely the new name should be ‘Church Week’, to recognise the retards who appear to be running (ruining?) our country?

  24. whodatis says:

    Ok…lemme get this straight…!!

    It is okay for us to gain 50% of our country’s wealth by way of the often corrupt, illegal, unfair, globalistic, capitalist methods that plague this world TODAY…but it is NOT okay to fantasize on a period from hundreds of years ago?

    Times like this is when I feel like b**** slapping certain decision makers in this country!

    Yes…we are SO HOLY…yet we host one of the strongest financial centers in the world!?

    Then we wonder why more of "our Caymanians can’t move up" within that industry?

    Folks, this overly righteous approach to everything is not conducive to breeding future native top players within that particular industry.

    If we are going to ban Pirate’s Week on the stated grounds then I’m sorry – we ought to get rid of our Financial industry as well – because a LARGE portion of the goings on within amounts to modern day PIRACY!!

    Yeah…i figured not many of you would agree to that…damn hypocrites!

  25. Outsider says:

    To a foreigner, this sounds silly.

    Surely some of the other 51 weeks of the year have acceptable weather around there for the cultural heritage festival? All noble and laudable, but no replacement for pirate-themed fun!

    State funds allocation could be a legitimate concern, but sponsorship should make this a false dichtomy.

     

  26. The People's CHAMP says:

    There is a little saying my mother aslways used to tell me, "It is better to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth an prove it is true". The anonymous writer who made the disrespectful comments in regards to Mr. Jim Bodden should pay close attention to that phrase . Besides the fact of him being a National hero he has been laid to rest for over a decade an a certain level of respect is due. Pirates week has brought joy to countless Caymanians, Expats an Tourist alike not to mention the children who for most of them Pirates Week is the hightlight of their year. As For Big MaC as he is so infamously referred to as, a word of advice from a concerned young CAYMANIAN citizen……..The up an comming generation of teenagers/up an comming VOTERS who so adamently look forward to the Pirates Week festivities will ask," What happened to Pirates Week, what do you mean there is no more Pirates Week", an someone will reply, " BECAUSE McKEEVA BUSH SAID SO".      

     

                                                 ppl’s C

  27. Anonymous says:

    Why don’t we just jump on the band wagon and call it "GAY PRIDE WEEK". That ought to bring in a few tourists. The parade would be simply marvelous and we could combine it with Batabano. Problem solved!!

  28. MissouriJoe says:

    Having visited the Cayman Islands numerous times, mainly by ship, I am very interested in the vacation product offered by the Islands. I travel many islands, mostly Carribean, and love to visit historical museums, artifacts and places when I travel. A maritime museum would be great, even if historical displays were re-created by the locals. I would probably not know the difference.

    As for Pirates Week being anything else, why confuse us tourists by changing the name, even if the tourist product is similiar.

    I’ll see ya’ll in September.

  29. anon says:

     Join the FACEBOOK Group …

    SAVE PIRATES WEEK

    Let Democracy mean something, Stand and be counted !

  30. Dull says:

    No-one is saying that Tampa or Seattle are putting themselves into disrepute by having pirate themed events.  No, people are having fun and money is coming into the economy.  If pirates really were that badDisney would not be doing films about them.  Only people who have never left Cayman would think anyone from outside the islands would be interested in turtleboats and ropemaking. 

    If religious fundamentalism is going to run the policymaking of the new government then the first focus should be teen sex. 

  31. Anonymous says:

    Mac is simply singing to the tune being told to him behind closed doors….he just not always sure what tune he needs to be singning so he goes ahead and blurts out the first notes without the whole story being made know to him….it’s kinda like ‘give um a lil taste of the changes to come so they get used to the idea before we lay the entire thing out on the chopping board’…..he made it clear the other day that it was only the name changing and pirate content would remain…but now he’s been fed additional information so he can sing another chorus of the song….someone connected to ‘tall ships’ want make money off Cayman now no doubt…..bring um in and pay them big!

  32. Anonymous says:

    I posted this previously for a different article, but it seems more appropriate to be attached to this one.

    Regarding Medium Mac’s ideas for the event formally known as Pirates Week, asreported by the Caymanian Compass – "Although he said a final name had not been decided, he envisioned either Heritage Week or Cultural Week. Instead of a pirates landing, Mr. Bush said there could be something like a mock landing of turtling schooners, which he said used to be a big thing culturally."

    So let me get this straight. Rather than having a well-established publicity event associated with the fantasy-image of pirates as further made popular by the widely successful trilogy of Pirates of the Caribbean films by the Disney Corporation, the current LOGB thinks it would be a better idea to associate Caymanian culture with the historical hunting of sea turtles to the point of their endagerment as a species?

    Yes, there are pirates in Somalia (and other countries in East Africa as well as areas in Southeast Asia). However, there are very few intelligent people out there who associate such modern day pirates with the actors clad in stereotypical costumes who adopt an equally ridiculous diction to entertain people on holiday. It would be like equating dressing up like the character of Robin Hood with supporting the principles of bank robbers and thieves.

    That being said, a certainty here is that celebrating the historical hunting of turtles will upset a great number of very vocal animal rights/environmentalist groups, amongst others. There are a huge number of documentaries detailing the modern hunting of endangered (or soon to be) marine animals.  Tell me again why it’s a good idea to make this switch?

    Furthermore, one would think that by announcing a name change to Pirates Week shortly after elections, Medium Mac would have an actual solid plan right now, which has been vetted for viability, rather than throwing out random ideas when asked for more details in a press conference.

    Here’s a solution. Finish up the two new schools and send Mr. Bush there to learn a little bit about the basics of public relations and running a government before he shoots his mouth off again to create yet another disaster.

  33. Anonymous says:

    If "pirate" is so controversial, why not call it Buccaneer Week. That makes me think of Errol Flynn and Johnny Depp. I can assure you there is not a tourist alive who will care about Heritage Week.

  34. Anonymous says:

    Yes, turn the worn down building next to the Lobster Pot in George Town into a National Maritime museum, highlighting the maritime history of ship building, merchant marine, turtling as well as the cat boat history. Have local people donate old photographs as well as other items for the exhibit. Something by which the country could be proud.

  35. Richard Wadd says:

     I disagree with the way in which our LGB is handling this issue. He attitude and actions are ‘Dictoral’ at best, Tyranical at worst.

    Pirates Week IS a part of our Culture, and has been for 30 years. Long before it was envisioned, it has been a part of our Cultural History, for facts are facts, and we ARE decended from Pirates (among others).

    This decision is NOT the LGB’s alone to make, but rather, due to its deep integration in our culture (what little we Genuinely have) a Public referendum and Vote / Poll should be taken before any such decision is made.

    Maybe the PPM didn’t make many Policy decisions, but at least they sought to know the ‘Will of the Poeple’ before unleashing their (PPM) policies upon us.

    No ‘not-so-big-Mac’, this time "you wrong!" This decision isn’t your’s alone to make. Let the people have their say first.

     

  36. Anonymous says:

    Well done, Mac. Forget all the nonsense about the supposed benefits for local businesses (ie bars). Forget these idiotic overgrown drunken schoolboys from Seattle. And, sadly, ignore respectfully Mary Trumbach. It’s natural she would want to revere her late father Jim Bodden but..well…Cayman is different now…the Texas Mafia has gone….Mr Jim’s feet like so many of the rest of us -heroes or not-were made of clay. A whole generation has no idea of who he was or what he represented. That is not altogether a bad thing, alas.

    • Anonymous says:

      To the anonymous poster who made disrespectful comments about a true leader:

      When you or or anyone else in recent memory has done for the Cayman Islands what Jim Bodden did in putting our islands on the map, then MAYBE you could stand up and be so disrespectful.

      He was not a perfect man, but then – neither is any politician. It is the nature of the beast. Was Kennedy perfect? Was FDR? Was Churchill? No – they were men, with all of the failings of men. Yet no one can dispute their  greatness. So it is with Jim Bodden.

      No one is without sin. Not me and not you and not him.

      But he loved his country and his people. And he was a smart man. If you go back and read some of his speeches from the 1970s – he predicted many of the problems that we have today – and offered solutions!

      Love him or hate him – he was a man of not only ideas – but of action.

      I happened to love him. Knowing very well the flawed human being that he was.

      Changing the name of Pirate’s Week makes no difference to his memory. In truth, your comments also make no difference. He was a visionary and a patriot. His accomplishments can never be erased.

      He would have been revered today whether he’d been named a national hero or not.

      While you will one day be forgotten and turned to dust.

  37. Anonymous says:

    I wish we had the stats to prove that Pirates Week brought in tourists so that we could prove that Mr. Bush was so wrong and we are living in a dictatorship.  Especially during these economic times when we need tourists more than ever. How to sell a cultural festival to people overseas?  You need a hook or people will not spend their hard earned and so precious vacation dollars.  We had that in Pirates Week and no one coming here associate it with the problems of piracy the world is experiencing today.  What happened to the separation of Church and State?

  38. Avast There says:

    What a shame that this fun event that brings a great deal of money into Cayman is going to be destroyed.  No-one is going to come here to watch a flotilla of turtle boats.  And to quote the LOGB, turtle boats have had their day too. 

  39. Steve Landry says:

    Please don’t let the political correctness which has run amok in the US rear it’s ugly head in the Cayman Islands.  Pirate’s Week is a fun event and there are versions of the it throughout the Caribbean and even in the states.  By all means emphasize the cultural heritage of the Caymans, but changing the theme – even if in name only – will weaken the event and will assuredly weaken the draw. 

    – Little Cayman