Buy Local: A Taste of St Lucia Expo ARC Edition
by Karen Rollins Dec 4, 2023
A special ‘Taste of St Lucia Expo ARC Edition’ is taking place opposite the Rodney Bay Marina from 15-16 December with over 50 local businesses set to take part.
Organised in conjunction with the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) event, the expo is an ideal opportunity for local artisans to show what they have to offer especially during the important Christmas season.
The expo will start at 10am each day. Some of the planned activities alongside lots of shopping include live performances and the grand lighting of the Christmas tree.
This version of ‘A Taste of St Lucia’ is open to tourists and locals but is particularly targeted at people connected to the ARC sailing event which has been using St Lucia as its home base for over 30 years.
Speaking at the launch of the ARC event in November in Spain, Export St Lucia’s Chief Executive Officer, Sunita Daniel, explained more about the expo. She said: “We are going to be bringing in a lot more businesses, creatives, activities for the children, and really try to get the yachties to come in and enjoy part of the traditions, St Lucia’s culture, and how we celebrate Christmas.”
ARC is described as “the world’s largest and most successful trans-ocean sailing event” and this year over 150 vessels took part.
The first boat to reach St Lucia was the Italian-owned ‘Berenice Cube’ which had a diverse crew of 16 people from Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France. It arrived after 10pm on Friday 1 December and took 12 days and 13 hours to make the trip across the Atlantic.
Several boats are due to arrive over the coming weeks.
ARC’s sailors and their supporters are encouraged to stay on the island after the race and participate in several cultural events including ‘A Taste of St Lucia’.
