The CHOGM Village is a retail sales space on the Port of Spain International Waterfront area which will be open to the national public, visiting delegates and media. It will provide exposure and opportunity for sales of indigenous art, craft, and food and allow the public to participate in an activity related to the CHOGM 2009.
The CHOGM Village will house approximately 22 tented booths with Tourism bodies, retailers and suppliers of local craft, coffee and cocoa products, CHOGM merchandise, local food concession as well as a stage, entertainment and dining areas.
The CHOGM Village will be the first associated event to kick off CHOGM 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago and will open free of charge every day of the week from November 14th to December 6th, 2009 and will be will be opened from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm daily.
The following types of booths will be located in the CHOGM Village:
• Local handmade dolls • Local jewellery made out of copper, wood and other natural materials • Handmade soaps • Handmade lotions, creams, body washes and scented candles and indigenous fragrances • Handmade confectionary • Local music CD’s and film DVD’s • Locally produced cocoa, coffee and tea products • Information booth on tourism sites and Trinidad and Tobago attractions • Books covering a wide range of local interests • Eco-tourism displays • Local ice cream and east Indian delicacies
It will be designed by legendary mas producer Brian MacFarlane and will be similar to the Fifth Summit of the Americas Summit Village with its clean and white tented facades reminiscent of the fretwork of the gingerbread houses throughout the Caribbean region, depicting the beauty of Caribbean artistry and its natural landscape. The design fits perfectly with the Gulf of Paria backdrop at one side and the Port of Spain modern skyline on the other.
Every day there will be three banks of entertainment featuring a variety of Trinidad and Tobago cultural acts like East Indian classical dance, chutney, pan, instrumentals and parang.
For information concerning the CHOGM Village, please contact Nadine Johnson, Project Manager at the National Secretariat at Tel: 868-625-7937.
