Public television’s Caribbean culinary series “Taste the Islands” is slated for a June 2017 release, and thanks to the show’s Season 2 underwriting partners – Barbados, Grace Foods, Lakay Foods, Caribbean Airlines and Wright Style Clothing, production has been completed. However in the last few weeks before delivery, the producers have initiated a crowdfunding campaign on the Indiegogo platform to help raise funds needed to cover the last of the show’s broadcast expenses.
Their crowdfunding pitch includes details from the show’s Executive Producer about the struggles they went through to bring the series to air in Season 1. Calibe Thompson states, “I sold my car, ate just-add-water pancakes from a box, and rode a bicycle for a few months to come up with the funds to get production on season 1 started. We found some camera guys, shot some cooking scenes in a friend’s kitchen, I edited everything… and then it all sat on my computer for a year. (A year later), through our preparedness and Chef’s connections, we had the opportunity to present the finished pilot to our local PBS affiliate, and the rest was history.”
Photo by David I Muir
History is still in the making. The team that brought you the first Jamaican-produced and Jamaican-hosted program on national public television is now asking the audience that supported them the first time around to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. Says the campaign, “In Jamaica we say “one one cocoa full basket”, meaning we’ll get to our goal a little at a time. The basket is almost full, but we need a few more cocoas to get us to the finishing point.”
Season 2 of “Taste the Islands”, now featuring Haitian Chef Thia and island explorer Lisa Lee along with original host Jamaican Chef Irie, is in need of the community’s support to help get back on air. With 8 days remaining in their very short campaign, the team has already been receiving steady support toward reaching its stated goal of $5,000 by Monday, January 16.
Watch the promotional clip for “Taste the Islands Season 2” at https://youtu.be/ui7My95pxNY or on the Indiegogo page.
Benefits for supporters of the campaign include signed cookbooks, early access to watch the episodes before they hit the TV, and even lifetime on-screen acknowledgement for individuals or their companies during the broadcast.
Visit their Indiegogo campaign at http://bit.ly/2ibYaML to read the full story.
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About Taste the Islands
TASTE THE ISLANDS is a half-hour cooking series featuring delightfully exotic, deliciously accessible Caribbean fare. Find it nationwide on PBS stations and Create® TV. Learn more at www.tastetheislandstv.com.
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