Bridgetown Market Changes: NCF CEO Responds to Vendor Concerns, Emphasizes Stakeholder Consultation

Amid growing concerns from vendors about changes to this year’s Bridgetown Market, the Chief Executive of the National Cultural Foundation (NCF), Carol Roberts, has clarified the rationale behind the recent alterations, emphasising the importance of stakeholder consultation and the evolving needs of the festival.

Roberts’s remarks came in response to a suggestion made by some members of the vending community that suggested a lack of consultation regarding the location changes for Bridgetown Market, with some of them alleging it would be moved to Broad Street without their input.

Speaking after a meeting with vendors late Thursday at the Queen’s Park Steel Shed, the CEO insisted that the decision-making process was thorough and well-founded, rejecting any notion of a hasty or uninformed decision.

“I’m not one to have knee-jerk reactions and responses to things, especially if I feel that the foundation is on good ground. And even after tonight’s meeting,” she said. “I’m still convinced that the foundation is and was on good ground. But we have always, during my tenure, that’s what I’m speaking about, been big on consultation and having conversations.”

Roberts detailed the considerations that led to the separation of the market into different spaces, including guidance from the Ministry of Health about certain sections of the Mighty Grynner Highway being unsuitable for the safe sale and distribution of food and drink owing to dust and flooding concerns.

She clarified that the decision to hold the art and craft markets in public spaces in Bridgetown was the result of extensive consultations with affected vendors dating back to 2022, with the most recent being in April 2023.

But, acknowledging the challenges in communicating with some vendors, she said: “While we would have called all of the vendors on our list over a hundred and something, oftentimes we either did not get a hold of them or they did not come. And so we, as an institution, have to take responsibility and find more accessible ways to communicate with this stakeholder group. So we accept that.”

Roberts also addressed the changes to the Grand Kadooment parade route, saying the decision was made in consultation with band leaders and other stakeholders to address safety and logistical issues.

The CEO said the NCF was deeply committed to supporting vendors through these changes and had made provisions for those who would normally operate at the start of the traditional route to be accommodated along the new route.

She reiterated the NCF’s dedication to developing and promoting Barbadian artisans: “We state categorically that the NCF remains committed to the development, the promotion, and the commercialisation of Indigenous art and craft.”

To accommodate the vendors, Roberts called for spokespersons for craft traders and food and beverage vendors to meet with the foundation’s technical teams on Friday to assess two spaces, namely the Courts Pasture and the Flour Mill site. “There’s still major concern about the dust, but I want them to see it for themselves in the light of day with our technical crew and make a reasonable assessment. And then from that reasonable assessment, we will meet again and go forward.”

“Stall space will go on sale from as early as Monday,” Roberts added. “It will be by appointment only. That was the consensus reached. We will maintain the 100 per cent art and craft markets in Bridgetown to allow those vendors to play their trade in a space that is exclusive to them. There still will be food and drink, indigenous as well. There will be entertainment and then we will look at the Mighty Grynner Highway for those spaces that lend themselves to various kinds of vending and create the environments there that will make that work.” (RG)