Lots of Reasons to Visit Montserrat this Holiday Season – Including a Volcano Half Marathon
Ferry Service to Return in December
The Government of Montserrat is pleased to announce the return of a ferry service between Antigua and Montserrat from early December 2009. The new service will provide Montserrat with two (2) daily return trips on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Additional information, including the exact schedule, fares and other details are to follow. For inquiries in the meantime, contact the Montserrat Tourist Board at info@montserrattourism.ms
Volcano Half-Marathon December 5th
The first ever Montserrat Volcano Half-Marathon and Fun Race will take place on Saturday December 5th, 2009. This route for this unique event will pass some of the key tourism attractions on Montserrat, including the active SoufriГЁre Hills Volcano, the Montserrat Cultural Centre, the entrance to Sir George Martin’s AIR Studios and the Belham River Valley, which is covered in volcanic rubble (weather permitting). As well as the 13.1-mile Half-Marathon course, fun runners and walkers will be invited to participate in a section of the route stretching approximately five miles. Registration for the Half-Marathon is EC$50 (US$19) for residents and EC$80 (US$30) for non-residents. This includes a race T-shirt and a souvenir medal produced from volcanic material for all finishers. There is no entrance fee for Fun Race Participants. Attractive cash prizes will be awarded, including EC$1,000 for the first finisher of the half-marathon. Surplus proceeds from this event will be donated to three Montserrat Charities: Special Olympics, Meals on Wheels and the Golden Years Retirement Home. Full further details go to www.visitmontserrat.com or become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Montserrat-Volcano-Half-Marathon/139901407963
Festival (Our Carnival) 2009 Approaching
Festival time is just around the corner and the Festival Committee has organized a jam-packed schedule of activities for revelers. With a theme of “Mas, Rhythm & Rhyme” this year’s event runs from December 4th, 2009 to January 1st, 2010. Montserrat Festival has many similarities with the carnivals held in other islands, and highlights the island’s wealth of culture and talent. At this time of the year, hundreds of Montserratians living overseas return to the island to reunite with families and friends and enjoy the festivities. There are calypso competitions, the Festival Queen competition, beauty and talent shows, and the parade of costumed troupes on New Year’s Day, as well as Masqueraders dancing in the streets. As night falls, excitement builds up at street ‘jump ups,’ which are informal dancing in the street with exuberant crowds. For further information on Montserrat Festival 2009, e-mail cumberbatchc@candw.ms and to view the full Festival Calendar go to http://www.facebook.com/islandofmontserrat?ref=ts#/photo.php?pid=3915203&id=92877280361
Montserrat Promoted to the Canadian Travel Trade
The Montserrat Tourist Board (MTB) recently partnered with Total Vacations out of Canada to promote the destination to travel agents across Canada and parts of the US. The island was featured in a two-page spread in Total Vacations’ latest brochure, which has been distributed to over 15,000 travel agents across North America. The company also promoted Montserrat at its product launches in September and early October, with the island having a designated tabletop display with promotional material in the cities of Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Three accommodation companies were featured in the brochure: Old Sugar Mill, Tradewinds Real Estate and Tropical Mansion Suites. Descriptions of these properties’ accommodations including their location, facilities, rates and photos were included in the brochure. Total Vacations will also be giving Montserrat 12 months of e-marketing to their 15,000-plus travel agent database through an exclusive flyer. For further information go to www.totalvacations.ca
WinAir Has New Agent in Antigua
Scheduled air carrier to Montserrat WinAir, is now using Caribbean Airport Services as its handling agent in Antigua. Passengers checking in for flights to Montserrat at VC Bird Airport need to proceed to the area where LIAT is located and look for the WinAir sign. The new contact number for WinAir in Antigua is (268) 480 5715 or (268) 562 7932.
Corrections to URL Addresses from September’s E-Newsletter
The website addresses for Scuba Montserrat and Ziggys Restaurant, which were featured in last month’s e-newsletter, were listed incorrectly. The correct addresses are www.divedestinationmontserrat.com and www.ziggysrestaurant.com
October 29, 2009
Posted in: Caribbean