What a fantastic get together in the Virtual Yard to kick off the month of June!

Caymanians and friends from across Canada, both US coasts, Scotland and England gathered and engaged in discussion, shouting out old friends and greeting new ones with warm hellos, all happy to reconnect and make new acquaintances.

Along with impressive personal and professional highlights shared by those in attendance – films in the works, new podcasts and vlogs on the horizon, job hunts in progress, live gigs, consistent fitness efforts, mental health breaks, poetry retreats with Sister Island conservation in mind, Cayman Islands merchandise on offer and so much more – the lively group also shared light-hearted ‘weather right now’ updates – an often comical ‘segment’ where members comment on the rain, snow, (infrequent) gift of sun (except for our Florida, California and Cayman members!) and any unusual conditions by location.

Together, the group, ranging from university students to professionals to creatives and advocates, had stimulating chat about the upcoming and past Cayman Day, the exciting Making Waves Awards, and the various Cayman Connection’s Global Clubs which all members can access free of charge. Attendees also took a walk down memory lane and across to the Sister Islands, reminiscing about simpler times and places such as CoMart, By-Rite, Republix, and the Brac’s one-stop shops that cater for everyone, including those on Keto diets!

One of the chat topics that certainly needs revisiting is that of positive growth in the arts sector in Cayman, particularly in film and new media, with a further discussion on the possibility of rebates in the near future to incentivise production companies to film in the Cayman Islands. Conversation quickly moved to how to capture the essence of the Cayman Islands from varying perspectives; from the persons residing full-time in the community; those who are from the Islands but live overseas; and those who come in from elsewhere. It was agreed that it is essential to have all viewpoints in the narrative on the Cayman Islands, but that in order to foster the creation of more ‘rooted’ work from those living in the community, a robust arts and cultural sector must be cultivated and supported by all, particularly our government.

The beauty of the Virtual Yard Chats is that people feel at ease joining in from their kitchens, gardens, while out on a stroll, on a bus, in the office (headphones on, camera off!), or just hanging out their home pad. If you haven’t visited with us yet, we invite you every first Wednesday of the month at 6pm BST to enjoy a lovely evening with friends talking that ‘good Cayman talk’ and supporting one another with lots of laughs along the way. Our next meeting is 6 July – see you there!