CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – Wednesday April 12th, 2017 – Patron for the 2017 Nevis Culturama Festival Announced.
Bath Village resident Joseph “Joe” Claxton will be the patron for the forty third staging of Nevis’ Culturama Festival which will be celebrated over the period July 27th to August 8th 2017.
This announcement was made on Wednesday April 12th 2017, during a Press Conference which was hosted by the Nevis Culturama Committee to officially launch the Culturama 43 calendar of activities.
Joseph Claxton was born in Bath Village on August 8th, 1957. He received his early childhood education at the Maude Smith Pre-School. He also attended the Charlestown Primary School and the Charlestown Secondary School where he received his primary and secondary school education.
After leaving school in 1976, Mr. Claxton worked as a student dispenser at the pharmacy of the Alexandra Hospital but often found himself working in the Administrative Office whenever they needed to utilize his mathematical skills in preparing the staff’s payroll.
In 1996 Mr. Claxton attended a Senior Management Health Course in St. Lucia and on his return to Nevis he was transferred to the Administrative Office at the Alexandra Hospital. In 2003 he was promoted to the position of Assistant Hospital Administrator and worked in that position up until 2008 when he became the hospital’s Administrator. In 2009 Mr. Claxton retired from the Government’s Civil Service after giving thirty three years of dedicated service.
Joe always had a very keen interest in folk dancing. It was therefore no surprise that in 1979 he was invited by the late Daryl Dore (the first Culturama patron) to become a member of the Daryl Dore Folklore Dancers. At that time when Joe joined the group they were preparing to attend CARIFESTA in Cuba later that year. Unfortunately, Joe was not selected to be a part of the CARIFESTA contingent to Cuba. However, during the Culturama celebrations that same year, he was given the opportunity to perform on stage as part of the Daryl Dore Folklore Dancers. In 1995, when CARIFESTA was held in Trinidad and Tobago, Joe was a part of the St. Kitts and Nevis contingent that participated in the regional festival there. The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis hosted CARIFESTA VII in 2000 and Joe had yet another opportunity to perform his Cakewalk, Quadrille and Lancer dances during the CARIFESTA VII celebrations that year.
It was because of Joe’s very keen interest in promoting the group and preserving the cultural art form that the late Daryl Dore chose Joe as his successor to lead the group before his passing in 1997. To this day, Joe has remained as the leader of the group although the group is somewhat dormant.
Throughout his illustrious dancing career, Joe has performed at the prestigious Four Season’s Resort, the Nisbet Planation Beach Club and at the Golden Rock Hotel. He has also performed in Montserrat during their annual Festival celebrations.
Joe is committed to the promotion and preservation of culture on Nevis. This he has demonstrated by assisting with the teaching of the Cakewalk Dance at the St. Thomas’ and the Elizabeth Pemberton Primary Schools. Joe presently serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Nevis Cultural Development Foundation. He is always willing to share his expertise with those who show a keen interest in acquiring the dance movements for the Cakewalk, Lancer and Quadrille dances. His commitment to folklore and Nevisian culture on a whole is phenomenal.
The Nevis Island Administration, through the Ministry of Culture, the Nevis Cultural Development Foundation and by extension the Culturama Secretariat and the Nevis Culturama Committee join to congratulate Joseph “Joe” Claxton on his selection as the patron of Culturama 43. We also extend best wishes to him and express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to him for his sterling contribution towards the advancement and preservation of Culture and Culturama on Nevis. Long Live Joseph “Joe” Claxton!