Once a year, some of the greatest thinkers, innovators, entrepreneurs and philanthropists in the world assemble in a tropical paradise. Just north of Virgin Gorda, Necker Island is a pristine, 74-acre island filled with lush jungle teeming wildlife. Richard Branson, eccentric billionaire and Chairman of The Virgin Group, has transformed this sanctuary into an ultra-exclusive…
My Grand Isle Marathon I’m thinking of changing the name of this column to My Garden of Eden, because that’s what this jewel has become to me. I haven’t left this precious island for eight months straight – not to Miami, not even to Nassau. It surprises visitors and locals, and according to Peter Nicholson,…
Canadian television star joins team as company’s second Brand Ambassador for Exuma Allan Hawco, the celebrated Canadian actor, writer and producer, is suiting up for the GIV Bahamas Inc. team to help promote the stunning island of Exuma, Bahamas. He joins Arlene Dickinson, powerhouse marketer and former star of CBC’s Dragon’s Den, as the second…
Panting the colours of Exuma is a daunting task, but Jason Borbay will give it a shot. The eccentric artist turned his cramped one-bedroom apartment, both art studio and abode for his wife and daughters, into a spacious villa at Grand Isle Resort & Spa. His favored perch outside the Guggenheim, announced by tour guides…
GIV Bahamas Inc. is proud to welcome its partnership with Arlene Dickinson, making her the company’s inaugural member of the Brand Ambassador Program. Dickinson, who is best known as a spirited, savvy and compassionate venture capitalist on CBC’s hit show “Dragon’s Den”, recently announced her departure from the show after eight seasons. While this incredible…
The year was 1830. Like many places in the world, slavery was a way of life in the Bahamas. So when John Rolle, a British Lord and plantation owner on Exuma, declared that 77 slaves would be transferred to work on Cat Island, it was understood that families would be separated and lives splintered. All…
Curlena Smith is known as a kind, friendly and dedicated “church lady”. A single woman in her mid-seventies, she calls a rustic, tiny house in Exuma her home. In the yard outside there is a simple message nailed to a tree: “Sowing Within”. A seamstress by trade, it might seem as if the life of…
The resort was absolutely jammed in February with everyone from families to celebrities and VIPs. Some notable guests include: Ron Joyce, founder of Tim Horton’s; Michael Cartwright, the founder of American Addiction Centers, Russell Steiner, owner of Steiner Shipyards in Atlanta and builder of the ship “The Black Pearl” from Disney’s The Pirates of the…
Hundreds of tourists and locals descended on the beloved island of Little Farmer’s Cay this past weekend for the annual Farmer’s Cay Regatta, with dozens of ships in harbour and lines of planes just outside Ty’s Sunset Bar & Grill making the airstrip resemble George Town International Airport. Always the first weekend of February, the…
GIV Bahamas Inc. had the privilege of promoting Exuma and Grand Isle Resort & Spa last month to the world’s most powerful networking group. The Tiger21 Annual Meeting, held last month at the historic and regal Breakers Resort in West Palm Beach, brought together an incredible collection of minds for three days of workshops and…
Pack your bags: Exuma’s swimming pigs are flying to the City of Angels. Figuratively, of course. Those swimming pigs are pretty comfortable where they are. But “When Pigs Swim”, the wildly successful documentary on the famous swine, has become an official selection of the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) in Los Angeles – it’s second…
The bands were jamming. The people were dancing. And a Junkanoo Rush marched through the streets. For two amazing nights, Exuma became the new Music City. Exuma Unplugged, an unprecedented musical event held last weekend, had the whole island rocking, featuring major talent from Canada, the Bahamas and Nashville, Tennessee. All of the talent and…