Belair clinches Best Village title in 2023 competition

Over 70 volunteers and four weeks of hard work has led to the Belair community taking the bragging rights in the 2023 Best Village competition.

The competition returned this year as part of the Independence celebrations after a near two-decade absence.

At the launch of the Independence activities, representatives of the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) said the reintroduction of the competition was done with the aim of fostering community spirit and building national pride.

Judging was done on Thursday, October 26 and results from the National Independence Committee in the Best Village category placed Belair, dressed by Green House Lab SVG, in the top position with 252 points, Redemption Sharpes, by Rocks and Plan Trendsetters, in second place with 176 points and Coull’s Hill Rangers in third with 152 points.

Coull’s Hill Rangers in third place

Nashika Hope who is the Executive Director of Green House Lab SVG, a recently established non-profit organization, said the group saw the competition as a natural follow-up to the community clean-ups which were carried out over the last few weeks in the West St George constituency.

“When we heard of this competition right away we knew we should jump towards it.. we needed to start making an impact in our community, making it environmentally friendly.”

They settled on the smallest village in Belair, the area surrounding the Mineral Spa and over the course of four weeks, the team, ranging from children from as young as four to age 70, cleaned the rivers, drains, gutters, trimmed trees as well as the residents’ yards close to the road.

Redemption Sharpes – 2nd place.

In the group were young creatives who came up with the designs for which the team solicited donations and also pulled money from their own pockets to secure the decorations.

Hope said as the project grew, more volunteers came on, even some from outside of Belair. The result was a well-earned win worth $5,000 and renewed commitment to building up the community.

“The group is committed to taking care of the environment, making a difference in Belair and surrounding communities.”

In the Best Kept Surroundings category, the New Foundation Group put Point in first place with 260 points and in second place was Donnie and Alphie Bennett from Vermont.

The Best Flower Garden was awarded to Olivia DaSilva from Cane End, while Fountain’s Sandy Lane Garden and Marci and Zimron from Kingstown Hill came in second and third place respectively.