Fungi Fest 2025 Highlights VI Culture; 'Culture
Fungi Fest 2025 put Virgin Islands culture on display as the annual celebration moved across three islands from November 14–16 under the Tourism and Culture Month theme "Rooted in Culture, Growing through Tourism." New details reported by VINO show the Rotary Club of Central Tortola has expanded the Culture in Motion programme into seven schools, teaching students Fungi music and Plait Poll. The festival’s Tortola night on November 15 at the Cyril B. Romney Pier Park featured live music, a 30-foot Christmas tree lighting and speeches underscoring the link between culture and tourism.
Fungi Fest 2025 brought Virgin Islands culture into the spotlight as the annual celebration moved through three islands from November 14–16. The event opened on Jost van Dyke on November 14, moved to Tortola’s Cyril B. Romney Pier Park on November 15 and concluded on Virgin Gorda on November 16 as part of Tourism and Culture Month, held under the theme "Rooted in Culture, Growing through Tourism." The second night of the festival at Pier Park drew families and visitors to the waterfront, where organisers also marked the start of the holiday season by lighting a 30-foot Christmas tree.
Musical performances showcased a wide cross-section of local talent, including Four Strong, Two Brain Cells, Zion Sounds, Razor Blades, Lashing Dogs, NTCG Fungi Band, Family String Band and Honey Bees, among others. Junior Minister for Tourism and Culture Hon Luce D. Hodge-Smith (R4) addressed the crowd at Pier Park, stressing the long-standing importance of culture to the Territory. "Obviously, because culture and tourism go hand in hand.
Tourism being our second economic pillar and culture being our heritage, and in order for us to attract persons to our destination, we need to be able to showcase to them just who we are as Virgin Islanders," she said, listing music, dance, drama, culinary and literary arts as essential parts of the local offering.
Hon Hodge-Smith noted that the VI has observed Culture Week since 1994 and has recently expanded observances to a month-long programme to better promote the Territory’s cultural assets. She emphasised the need to engage young people so traditions can be passed on: "We want to see our young people engage in our history, in our culture, so that it can be passed on for generations to come." Building on that theme of youth engagement, VINO reports that the Rotary Club of Central Tortola has continued a programme called Culture in Motion into about seven Virgin Islands schools.
Walcott, president of the Rotary Club of Central Tortola, told VINO the project was started by Minister for Education, Youth Affairs and Sports Hon Sharie B. de Castro and that the club obtained approval to "piggyback" the initiative after co-signing with the Ministry. According to Walcott, students in the participating schools are being taught Fungi music and Plait Poll as part of the programme.
Organisers and community leaders say events like Fungi Fest do more than entertain: they give local performers, vendors and small businesses exposure during a peak tourism period and help preserve island traditions. As Tourism and Culture Month continues across the Territory, organisers say they will keep programming that highlights community heritage while supporting the economic contributions of tourism to everyday life in the Virgin Islands.
Fungi Fest concluded on Virgin Gorda on November 16, closing out three nights of music, food, and cultural celebration that organisers hope will strengthen connections between young people, local traditions, and the Territory’s tourism offer.
Primary source: VINO