Over the years the first day of Cup Match has increasingly become a day when residents enjoy spending time out of doors with family and friends, either at the beach or on a boat. With that in mind, in what Chewstick officials say will become an annual event, the organisation will host a free 'Beachfest' at Horseshoe Bay from 12 noon on August 3.

In what he expects will be "one of the most creative and fun days of the holiday", Chewstick CEO Gavin Smith said activities will include a beach football tournament, dominoes tournament, east versus west tug-of-war, sand sculpting, volleyball, plus live entertainment and DJ's.

"We plan to build on the existing tradition of young people going to Horseshoe Bay on the first day of Cup Match with a fun in the sun day full of activities for the entire family," Mr. Smith said.

"What Chewstick has planned surely promises to be quite a contender for where to go that day, with activities from 12 noon until ? and it's free."

Revealing that his organisation was "really excited" about the Beachfest Cup football tournament, financial controller Najib (TanZ) Chentouf said: "To our knowledge this is the first beach football tournament of its kind. The winning team gets some cool prizes and trophies, their name on the Beachfest Cup, and automatic entry into the Champions of Summer football tournament at summer's end. Registration forms are available at Just For Kicks, Pro Shop, International Sports Shop, or can be downloaded from www.chewstick.com."

Of course, no Chewstick Beachfest would be complete without live entertainment, so what is termed "a virtual who's who of local artists" has been lined up.

The list includes Olybhosh (Chewstick?s Band), Zion, Wire, Tiny T, Ninja Cutty, Joy Barnum, Blac and LockTight, among others.

On the turntables throughout the day keeping the good vibes going will be DJ Styles of LockTight, Skilatchi and Chewstick?s Dirkistan Freedom Fighters.

?What we hope to offer on August 3 is a healthy, fun alternative to the usual Emancipation celebrations,? Mr. Smith said. ?We want to contribute to the Island as a whole, upping the ante to make Bermuda the place to be during this time, and rivalling global events such as Canada?s Caribana and Barbados? Crop Over. We want our people to stay in Bermuda for Cup Match, and give visitors an event to plan for.?

To ensure the success of this vision, Chewstick has solicited assistance from various local organisations including Barmuvinjam, Greenrock, Spanish Town, Gosling?s, Barritt?s and the Government departments of Youth and Sport, Tourism, and Parks.

Part proceeds from the August 3 event will be donated to the Women?s Resource Centre (www.wrcbermuda.com), a registered charity focusing on women?s issues.

For further information on the Beachfest and football tournament visit website www.chewstick.com or ( Gavin Smith at 292-0555 ext. 402 or 504-2439, or Najib Chentouf at 505-5332.

Overall, a delighted Mr. Smith said this summer ?has been the biggest yet? for the ever-growing Chewstick movement.

?Benefiting from the Tourism entertainment initiative, we have been able to increase our schedule to every Sunday night; our house band, Olybhosh, and DJs, the Dirkistan Freedom Fighters, have been a much sought-after addition to the party scene; and our website is quickly becoming the site to visit to find out what is really going on in the community, with regular audio updates of our lounge nights and interviews with community figures. And now we are getting ready for Beachfest, our biggest event yet.?