Trinidad and Tobago’s beloved trickster spider is once again spinning a web across the nation as the Season of Anansi National Folklore Festival returns for its fourth edition, continuing a decade-long mission to transform local folklore into a dynamic force for education, performance and cultural innovation.

Produced by the Wire Bend Folklore Theatre, the festival has become one of the country’s most ambitious youth-focused cultural initiatives, blending storytelling, theatre, literature, visual arts and Afro-Futurist imagination while reaching thousands of students and audience members across Trinidad and Tobago.

This year’s festival has already been making its way through primary and secondary schools nationwide via its popular Anansi Storytelling Tour, which runs throughout April, May and June. Students have been treated to immersive performances inspired by the bestselling New Adventures of Anansi book series, as well as engaging explorations of folklore, history and Caribbean identity.

Schools visited so far include Naparima Girls’ High School, St Mary’s College, Sangre Grande Secondary School, Chaguanas Government Primary School, Four Roads Government Primary School, Curepe Fatima RC School, St Helena Presbyterian School, and the Pentecostal Light and Life Foundation Multifaceted Educational Complex in Tobago, among others.

The festival’s reach has extended beyond the classroom. In a recent collaboration with the Alliance Française during its Week of Latin America and the Caribbean, audiences packed the venue for a sold-out presentation that explored the origins of Anansi, the enduring relevance of folklore, and live dramatic excerpts from the New Adventures of Anansi novels.

Building on a Landmark Year

The 2026 season follows what organizers describe as a breakthrough year for the festival.

In 2025, the festival significantly expanded its footprint through the multimedia exhibition and seminar Black Infinite: The Global Rise of Afro-Futurism, staged at CinemaOne IMAX. The event attracted international contributors, academics, creatives and pop-culture enthusiasts, introducing global science fiction and fantasy audiences to Trinidad and Tobago’s growing presence within the Afro-Futurist movement.

The festival also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the acclaimed stage adaptation of Anansi & the 10 Dragons with a major production at Queen’s Hall, while a moving Tribute to the Storytellers at the Little Carib Theatre honoured legendary cultural figures Paul Keens Douglas, Aunty Thea and the late Rapso artist Brother Book.

Organizers say the 2026 edition aims to deepen those international and local relationships while strengthening the schools outreach programme that has long been at the heart of the festival’s mission.

Reimagining Folklore for the Future

For 11 years, Wire Bend Folklore Theatre has been dedicated to presenting curriculum-aligned cultural programming that introduces young audiences to folklore through contemporary performance techniques and cutting-edge technology.

Since 2015, the company has created 13 original productions and performed for thousands of students and public audiences throughout the country. Its signature style combines elaborate costumes crafted by master artisans with interactive animation, digital media and immersive theatrical storytelling.

At the centre of the movement is founder and artistic director Rubadiri Victor, author of the bestselling New Adventures of Anansi series. Victor’s novels have helped pioneer a new wave of Caribbean folkloric fantasy fiction, reimagining ancestral stories for modern readers while inspiring live performances that continue to captivate school audiences.

One of the series’ most distinctive innovations is its focus on a female Anansi character—the young grandmother of the famous spider trickster—offering fresh perspectives on gender, leadership and resilience while challenging traditional storytelling conventions.

The stories tackle themes that resonate strongly with contemporary audiences, including community breakdown, misinformation, tyranny, slavery, greed and self-absorption, all while remaining rooted in the rich traditions of Trinidad and Tobago’s folklore.

Folklore Meets Afro-Futurism

A major highlight of this year’s programme will be the return of Black Infinite: The Global Rise of Afro-Futurism, which will be remounted at the National Library’s Rotunda in Port of Spain from July 6 to July 16.

The exhibition explores the growing global influence of Afro-Futurism and its connections to Caribbean storytelling traditions, offering visitors a unique blend of visual art, history, speculative fiction and cultural commentary.

For festival organizers, the objective remains clear: to inspire young people to see themselves reflected in epic stories and to recognize their own communities, landscapes and cultural traditions as worthy of imaginative exploration on the grandest scale.

As the Season of Anansi continues throughout June, the festival once again demonstrates that folklore is far from a relic of the past. In the hands of a new generation of storytellers, artists and dreamers, it remains a powerful force for creativity, identity and cultural transformation.

The Black Infinite: The Global Rise of Afro-Futurism exhibition opens at the National Library Rotunda, Abercromby Street, Port of Spain, from July 6–16, 2026. Admission is free.

With unity and a goal, societies can prove unstoppable. This is what Soca artiste, Shurwayne Winchester has recognized three years after establishing Team A Plus, a group that effectively collaborates with parents and staff at willing educational institutions, to elevate their respective school environments. On Saturday, June 6^th, ‘The Vineyard’ will ultimately offer students of St. Xavier’s Private Primary School a refreshed reading and learning environment when their school library is upgraded. 

“The goal for the Vineyard this year is the enhancement of the library at St. Xavier’s,” said Shurwayne. He says the library requires structural upgrades, identified by officials at the school. “These upgrades will create a more inviting experience for the children. We want the children to come into that space and enjoy the books. We’ll also be adding a touch of technology, because of the times we’re in,” he explained. 

This year’s food inclusive event is being hosted at the school, along Richmond Street in St. Joseph, and will feature artistes like Vaughnette Bigford, Terri Lyons, Nisa, Destra Garcia, Tony Paul, and Shurwayne with his band, YOU. “This is not about me. I am no hero. I am just the face and the voice. We are a small team, committed to a cause,” he said, highlighting that the artistes, service providers and the support of parents and school staff, ultimately brings success to each effort. “The artistes who offer their performances at a discounted cost, are the real heroes. The service staff who negotiate payment plans with us and of course, the parents and school staff who work with us to bring success to their events, these are the people who must be credited for understanding the goal.” 

Already committed to 5 events annually, Shurwayne says three additional school projects have been added to the team’s calendar for 2027. Following Saturday’s event, ‘Just the Two of Us’ will be hosted in Sangre Grande in aid of the development of a playing field area for the students of the Cunapo RC Primary School. “As children they should have an area where they can play. They need grass beneath their feet to play football and cricket, if they so wish. There is access to a piece of land through the school, and we’re going to backfill the land and fence it,” said the entertainer, explaining that the event is being held on July 11^th as a Parang in July themed event. 

A father himself, Shurwayne understands the importance of education and an environment that is conducive not only to learning, but growing holistically. “On October 3^rd, we’ll be hosting Sunset on the Hill in Signal Hill Tobago. That event will support the needs of two schools at home in Tobago,” he shared, pointing to the Signal Hill Primary and Secondary Schools. “We’ll be building a covering for the steelpan area at the Signal Hill Primary School so that the students can practice even when there’s inclement weather, and at the Secondary school, funds will be donated for much needed technical equipment like printers and computers,” he said.  

Two events to close off the year in November and December ultimately capture the hope of a group of dedicated adults who understand the need for unity, and seeing the bigger picture. “If we can give our children more opportunities and show them that they have a choice, offer them the opportunities to choose what they would like to do, whether it’s sports, information technology, whatever it may be, while delivering the right classroom environment to them, then maybe we can create the change we’d like to see; Maybe we can save a few of our youths from falling through the cracks,” said Shurwayne. “Some schools just don’t have the budget to give the students the best opportunities and then we look at those schools and say the children are bad, but often time, there’s a bigger issue at play. Sometimes the schools just cannot afford to give the children what they need to think bigger.”

Team A Plus’ year will end with sweet Parang music and efforts to help Bishops Anstey Junior School and St. Benedicts College in San Fernando. “On November 12^th, we’ll be hosting Pepper Pot Parang in aid of repairing a walkway covering at Bishops Junior School, and then on December 5^th, Parang Down South will assist another school in covering their pavilion,” said the artiste. 

Shurwayne knows he is doing exactly what he is meant to, and believes that at the helm of everything stands God. “We’re doing this through God’s grace. Some of the things we’re getting through with, there’s just no way possible that we could have done any of that. I am grateful to the team of people in my corner, the artistes who are giving their support, the service providers and the people who allow me to barter my performances with them to make this happen for the children. I’m also grateful to the sponsors who’ve come on board. They are the stars. I just do what my heart tells me to do.”