The Tribune

HARBOUR Island and Key West in Florida have become ‘sister cities’ in order to make the most of events and opportunities for the two.

Bahamas Consul General to Miami H Ricardo Treco recently met with Key West Mayor Craig Cates at Key West City Hall.

He was accompanied by Deputy Consul General Sandra Carey and discussions were held concerning the importance of the Bahamian influence and diaspora in Key West.

The Consul General and Deputy Consul General were formally introduced to the staff and Mr Treco presented the mayor with a gift of a photo of Junkanoo costume by the Valley Boys entitled “Obeah Man” from the 2012 Boxing Day parade.

Mayor Cates, a descendent of the Bahamas whose grandparents were from Eleuthera, was delighted to receive the gift.

The mayor invited the Consul General and Deputy Consul General to be VIP guests at the opening of the Bahamas Village Goombay Festival, a two-day event with food, craft, and entertainment, including a rush out by a Miami-based Junkanoo group and a Bahamian band providing rake n’ scrape music.

Also invited to the festival as guests of the mayor were representatives from the Commissioners Office in Harbour Island, who were presented them with a street sweepers vehicle to assist in maintaining cleanliness on the island.

Mayor Cates told Consul General Treco that they had developed a “Sister City” relationship with Harbour Island in order to facilitate ongoing bi-lateral events and opportunities for both Harbour Island and Key West.

Treco also met with the organiser of the event, which attracted an estimated 20,000 visitors, and encouraged him to include more “authentic” Bahamian food and craft stalls.

Mr Treco met with Commissioner Dennis C. Moss of the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners District 9 on October 17. He was accompanied by Deputy Consul General Sandra Carey, who is a very well informed historian on the Bahamian Diaspora in Florida.

The purpose of the meeting was to formally meet the commissioner and to establish a working relationship with the county of Miami-Dade. The commissioner was born at Crooked Island in the Southern Bahamas and his district has a rich Bahamian heritage.

During the meeting, they discussed the possibility of creating a permanent “Monument” to the Bahamas and securing several existing sites as historical landmarks.

Bi-lateral business opportunities also were discussed as well as opportunities to create a permanent cultural presence for Bahamians in South Florida.

During their official visit to the Bahamas Consulate General Office in Miami last week, Dr Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador-Designate to the United States, and Paulette Zonicle, Bahamas Consul General to Washington, DC, along with Consul General to Miami Ricardo Treco and Deputy Consul General Sandra Carey were taken on a tour of Miami by Andrew A Ingraham, President/CEO of the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers (NABHOOD), after having lunch at the City Hall restaurant.

Also attending was Cornelius Shiver, Chief of Staff for Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones (District 5). Mr Ingraham is a Bahamian, and the tour included a visit to the Bahamian Connection Grill, 4400 N.W. 2nd Avenue, owned by Mr Ingraham’s brother Philip.