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Festival Village honouree Larina L. Jacobs-Lamothe ready to get cooking
In June, the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board & Film Commission (BVITBFC) announced the festival village would be named after Rena, who is described as the cornerstone of the Virgin Islands Emancipation Festival for nearly four decades.
According to the BVITB, it was Rena’s consistent and welcomed presence at the Emancipation Festival as the owner and chef of Booth num. 3 that made her a nationally recognised personality and fitting for this honour.
‘I can do this’- Rena
In an interview with JTV Channel 55, Rena reminisced on her start at the Festival Village. “I came in the village and I used to be back and forth, back and forth, and I tell myself I can do this.”
Forty-five years later, she is still cooking up her famous whelk soup, conch soup, fried fish, fried chicken and Johnny cakes. “The whole works,” she added.
Rena opened her booth at the festival village in 1986. Looking back on that time, Rena recalled selling a plate of her whelks stew for $20.00. Now it is $45.00, as the cost for a pound of whelks is now $20.00.
She also spoke about having a troupe in the 1979s. “It was nice. At that time we used to really dress nice and our socks, our boots…We had to put on clothes at that time, we had to dress real good”.
Family Reaction
Rena’s family’s reaction to the news of her big upcoming award, she said, was good, “All over the state, all over Puerto Rico, all over the world called me, celebrating it with me and I feel good, I feel great.”
Looking forward to receiving her award on Monday, August 5, 2024, Rena said she hopes she does not get nervous.
After collecting her award, she will be heading straight back to Booth #3 and her kitchen to cook.
Booth #3, she added, is number one. “It’s all about Booth 3. It’s where you get your delicious food, [that is] finger-licking good, from the pot to your mouth,” she beamed.
Icon & tourism hospitality veteran- Tourism Director
Director of Tourism Clive L. McCoy described Rena as not only an “icon” in the festival village but a “seasoned hospitality veteran”.
Rena has co-managed and cooked for her family business, Sidney’s Peace & Love Restaurant in Little Harbour, Jost van Dyke in addition to being a property owner, manager, and proprietor of Rena’s Boutique, Rena’s Ice, and Rena’s Taxi Service.
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16 Responses to “Festival Village honouree Larina L. Jacobs-Lamothe ready to get cooking”
It’s her married name @"$£%e. She’s from JVD.
Today we celebrate that era by proudly carrying on those names. So imagine going back in time and you saw a group of African slaves going about somewhere and you were to asked "whose slaves are they"? The reply oh!, they belong to Mr. Jacobson. ( thier african names were never mentioned) As time passed, those slaves would adopt Jacobson as their ID. Their children would then be Ken Jacobson. Ask the Premier and other persons on the Island why they chose the African names they carry. Black people like myself are not Indigenous to the Islands. They were forced from the land of their proud ancestors and forced to work as slaves. The Indigenous people they met here were driven off or killed by the Colonisers.
A plate of whelks was $20 but now it is $45.00, as the cost for a pound of whelks is now $20.00? You don’t get nowhere near a pound of whelks in your plate.
One pageant after the next, one paid night in Festival Village after the next, $800+ costumes for Parade, 2 Music Fests a few weeks ago then they will be crying again things brown when feting over.
Instead of saying walk wid dah tell them they could keep whatever they selling and save your money.
@This is Not Emancipation from Slavery.
I agree????
On top of that, do you see the theme presented on the “walk wid dah” painting. Nuf slackness, degrading women as always. A weak culture! they need to call it what it really is, CARNIVAL.. In fact, it should be called, HOENIVAL