Music Festival Grand Cayman February 2019

[Alucard]

They have been working to clear and level the mangrove swamp in the wedge between the ETH and West Bay Road, south of the roundabout where those two roads join. Folks have told me that that is where the festival will be.

 

[EastEndDiver]

In my opinion Dart is not that concerned with the environment:

Dart Container Corporation[1] of Mason, Michigan, United States is the world's largest manufacturer of foam cups and containers, producing about as many as all competitors combined.[2] Dart Container is privately held by the Dart family.

You can read it all here:

Dart Container - Wikipedia

Quite a few shady business practices also.

All their products are Single use which all wind up somewhere after ONLY one use

 

[scubadada]

In my opinion Dart is not that concerned with the environment:

Dart Container Corporation[1] of Mason, Michigan, United States is the world's largest manufacturer of foam cups and containers, producing about as many as all competitors combined.[2] Dart Container is privately held by the Dart family.

You can read it all here:

Dart Container - Wikipedia

Quite a few shady business practices also.

All their products are Single use which all wind up somewhere after one use

What a surprise. We bought a timeshare in 1997, during a building moratorium, that did not last long. We lost the timeshare after Ivan in 2004 when the Cayman government supported the unscrupulous owner. A concert producer out for themselves with the cooperation of the Cayman government, what a surprise. Anything to increase tourism.

 

[caydiver]

I live across the road from Calicos Jacks/Kimpton. Many folks park in the grass along the road here for Batabano and CayMAS. They leave behind a disgusting mess of mass humanity— broken bottles, condoms, chicken bones (least favorite because the dogs find them). “We” being the people who live here clean it up. When we had the dive boat run from the beach in West Bay and complained about the mess there especially broken bottles the big group with the lease on that part of the beach said not their problem. Our crew cleaned it daily. We asked if they could provide a garbage can so at least a few people might throw their leavings in it the answer was no. I am not one bit confident that all will be taken cate off. Plus there are plans for satellite events in other places. I believe that there will be plenty of mess that homeowners and buinesses will be left to deal with. In fairness do you think that anyone who is promoting these events on any level is going to say or even know that the mess is here. They are mostly paid mouthpieces with their promo scripts many having no connection to Cayman.

 

[Alucard]

Small fact check here - Dart Enterprises and Dart Realty (the companies that are a major land owner on Cayman) and the Dart Container Corp (the one quoted in EastEndDiver's post) are two completely different companies. The link is that Kenneth Dart (the owner of Dart Enterprises) is the son of William F. Dart, but he renounced his US Citizenship in the 1990s and moved to the Cayman Islands, becoming a citizen. Aside from being an heir to the fortune (along with others) I don't believe that there is any other connection between the companies.

Kenneth Dart's companies on Cayman now owns about 20-25% of the real estate in the Cayman Islands. So far they have been a decent steward, in my opinion - Camana Bay and the Kimpton Seafire, along with the new bypass - all Dart projects - tend to be well-liked by most of the locals and visitors. There will always be some who don't like it, of course, especially those that want Cayman to stay the way it was in the 90s, but a developed country can't afford to do that. Squeaky clean? No.

More information on the company: Billionaire Dart Reinvented as Cayman Land Baron

 

[caydiver]

I don’t think there is any connection as one entity was a family company and the other one that he started. In the 1980s he was President of the Container Company until his brother Robert went into that role and he went to the board. Whether or not he still has any direct goverance I really don’t know and if not whether it was by choice or legal requirement I don’t know. I do feel that based on personal experience there will be a mess in some places that will not be cleaned up by promoters or the gov. And I will leave the question open about which company had control over the beach we used in West Bay. I know who we had to have insurance coverage for and who we reached out to. I am not a fan nor a detractor as I have no personal knowledge and tend not to believe most “news” stories so not in a position to judge.

 

[EastEndDiver]

Not to beat a dead horse but Dart Container Corp. lists this:

Robert C. Dart, CEO
Kenneth Dart, Chairman

 

[mi000ke]

I am a member of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands (their mission is to preserve the natural environment and places of historical significance) and have emailed the environmental programmes manager to ask about who is responsible for the environmental impact of these types of events.

Also, while not trying to defend Dart, one would think (hope) it is generally in their economic interest to keep GC a pleasant place to visit. Imagine what their high-paying guests at Dart's Kimpton and other nearby hotels and condos are going to think if the area is trashed and left that way. I know I won't be pleased. Anyway, I'm staying optimistic for now (and it's better for my blood pressure).

 

[caydiver]

Mi000ke. Thats awesome. I look forward to what you find out.

 

[mi000ke]

In fairness do you think that anyone who is promoting these events on any level is going to say or even know that the mess is here. They are mostly paid mouthpieces with their promo scripts many having no connection to Cayman.

Promoters usually are more than PR people. They typically take financial and legal responsibility for their events. They hire and pay for the venue, the performers, sound system, the vendors, security staff, clean-up staff, medical personal, etc. They will have their people on site managing the event. (My band has performed at similar outdoor events in the US, so I have some familiarity with how it works there, and assume it's pretty much the same on GC.) The question is, what responsibilities did they agree to with the government in order to get their permit. And what is the process to lodge complaints if they do not live up to those responsibilities. I'll dig in some more to see what I can find out. Meanwhile, stay optimistic my friends, and plan on hearing some good music.