Dropping the word ‘fish’ from the Oistins Festival was not done to hurt vendors and other indigenous stakeholders, says chairman of the Oistins Festival Organising Committee Toni Thorne.
Rather, the rebrand was done to include more people and help the privately-run festival become more viable, she added.
Thorne was speaking yesterday at Oistins Bay Garden during the official start of the festival after a two-year absence because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She was responding to a recent article where some vendors urged the organisers to put the ‘fish’ back in the festival.
In 1977, the Oistins Fish Festival began following the inspiration and ideas of Stella Lady St John, wife of former Prime Minister Sir Harold St John and a parliamentary representative for the area. (TG)
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