{"id":5811,"date":"2025-08-25T13:38:57","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T13:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/25\/vincentians-converge-on-picture-perfect-massive-vincy-day-picnic\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T13:38:57","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T13:38:57","slug":"vincentians-converge-on-picture-perfect-massive-vincy-day-picnic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/25\/vincentians-converge-on-picture-perfect-massive-vincy-day-picnic\/","title":{"rendered":"Vincentians converge on picture-perfect, massive Vincy Day Picnic"},"content":{"rendered":"

In picture-perfect weather, Vincentians from all walks of life on Saturday, Aug. 16, converged on the picturesque and expansive Heckscher State Park in East Islip, Long Island for the massive Vincy Day Picnic.<\/a><\/p>\n

Nationals trekked from as far as Canada and Miami, as well as from their homeland, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, for the 13<\/span>th<\/span> annual extravaganza.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the temperature hovering around 83 degrees, thousands of Vincentians, Caribbeans, and other nationals converged on the park\u2019s Camp Grounds for the day-long spectacle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They met and greeted relatives and friends \u2013 many of whom they had not seen in years \u2013 at the 1,657-acre state park on the shore of the Great South Bay.\u00a0<\/span>The event featured, among other things, pulsating Vincentian and Caribbean Soca and calypso music, and steel pan and gospel music, and showcased a kaleidoscope of colors \u2013 including the Vincentian national colors, green, gold (yellow) and blue \u2013 and a potpourri of Vincy dishes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Interspersed with DJ music, the Vincentian-owned Magma Band, led by renowned keyboardist Adrian Bailey, backed up several calypsonians and Soca and reggae artistes, and provided hypnotic rhythms to the frenzied party crowd at the main stage on the eastern corner of the grounds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Dennis

Dennis Bowman sings Poorsah’s “Go Right in Dey”<\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\"Consul

Consul General Rondy “Luta” McIntosh, center, with co-MCs Atiba Williams, left, and Hailes Castello<\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\"Chanique

Chanique Rogers-Bailey out-front with Magma Band<\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The show featured, among others, Alyssa Seales, and Timmi Straker and Super K on steel pan; Hymm Legendary singing reggae, R&B and Soca music; Brother Don and Evangelist LaFleur Durrant Sprott singing gospel music; Gregory Olive and Jose Juan with calypso; Dennis Bowman singing both soca and calypso; and K. Amir, Prezzi Don, Skarpyon and Rondy \u201cLuta\u201d McIntosh (Consul General to the United States).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After revving up the party crowd with \u201cBusy Tone\u201d, \u201cTight Spot\u201d and \u201cBad Mind\u201d, McIntosh told <\/span>Caribbean Life that he was delighted to see nationals coming together to celebrate their \u201cVincyness with our Vincy cuisine, Vincy beverages and Vincy colors, along with our Vincy culture, that keep us true to our roots and our identity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI urge all Vincentians living in the Diaspora to reserve one day of the year to join us at Heckscher State Park for this grand reunion, where our culture comes alive,\u201d he added. \u201cMay God bless our people and keep us through to our identity, and that we may not forget where we came from! Vincy to the bone!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mylene Matthews, who trekked from North Carolina, said she brought along her family for the showcase.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is good,\u201d she said. \u201cI love it. All my family is here \u2013 my son and my three grandkids.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Co-stage Manager Gary “Tunka” Edwards, left, with his son, reggae, R&B and Soca artiste Hymm Legendary<\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Consul General Rondy “Luta” McIntosh revs up the party crowd with “Busy Tone”<\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

The effervescent party crowd<\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

As she swayed to Skarpyon\u2019s \u201cHammer\u201d, Brooklyn resident Desree Quashie, said she was excited to be part of the festivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a better package than last year,\u201d she said, flanked by Daphne James, a registered nurse and fellow villager from South Rivers in the North Central Windward constituency in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. \u201cThere are hardly any empty areas like last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been coming regularly,\u201d Quashie added. \u201cYou\u2019ve seen a lot of improvements since COVID.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, she said, \u201cA lot of people stayed away because of ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement). There could have been more people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Terrance Edwards, who helped promote his cousin Dr. Richard A. Byron-Cox’s book The Story of Pauline Bramble, said the picnic was \u201cvery nice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody is just getting together, picnicking, celebrating,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody is enjoying themselves \u2013 no bad activity. It\u2019s one of the best Vincy Days I\u2019ve seen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

South Rivers villagers Desree Quashie, left, and Daphne James, a registered nurse, having a good time.<\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Skarpyon performs “The Hammer”<\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Expressing joy on Vincy Day USA 2025<\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Prezzi Don brings some vibes to the party<\/span>Photo by Nelson A. King<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Gary \u201cTunka\u201d Edwards, co-stage manager, commended the Vincy Day Committee, stating that they are \u201cdoing a tremendous job in bringing the community together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the biggest day gatherings in North America (for Vincentians),\u201d he said. \u201cBuses came from Canada and Boston; people came from Miami. We\u2019re looking for bigger and better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Raymond Otis Lewis, chair of Vincy Day USA, Inc., said that the Annual Vincy Day, which is usually held on the third Saturday in Aug., is \u201cunrivalled.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVincy Day brings families together,\u201d he said. \u201cIt gives you one day to decompress.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time to enjoy yourself,\u201d Lewis added. \u201cSo, that\u2019s the reason behind what we do. We do this without fear or favor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In picture-perfect weather, Vincentians from all walks of life on Saturday, Aug. 16, converged on the picturesque and expansive Heckscher State Park in East Islip, Long Island for the massive Vincy Day Picnic. Nationals trekked from as far as Canada and Miami, as well as from their homeland, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5811\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}