Saturday 20 June 2026

SVG Association of Ottawa throws cultural soirée

by Asantewa Nkuah, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Association of Ottawa (SVGAO) is a non-profit organization committed to preserving and promoting Vincentian culture while fostering community engagement, education, and connection. On Saturday June 20 they hosted their third annual Tropical Fusion event: Cinema & Bush Brew. n addition to a showing of the shortform documentary Bush Medicine: Stories that Remember the Land, the evening offered a meal catered by Island Flava, live entertainment courtesy of a hired DJ, prizes & giveaways, a cash bar, and vendors. Attendees were also able to network and educate themselves on various bush medicines, even tasting samples of bush tea for themselves. 

Suzette Small-Weekes, President of the SVG Association, told me more about the event. Tropical Fusion has always been about the mingling of music, culture, and community. This year’s Tropical Fusion had a strong emphasis on storytelling, as well as environment and wellness. “We all have bush medicine,” Suzette explained, “we simply call it different things.”

Cinema & Bush Brew also aimed to promote St. Vincent and the Grenadines tourism by highlighting the country as a wellness destination rooted in its natural environment, rich traditions, and cultural heritage. The islands are not just beautiful in a scenic sense. They hold valuable indigenous knowledge. The St. Vincent Tourism board was among the event’s organization sponsors. 

Bush brew tea for guests to enjoy.

It was an intimate setting filled with the sounds of conversation, laughter, and music. The Black Justice Navigator Program, a group that has been serving Ottawa for 26 years now, was present. I also spoke with i am MOV’N, an Ottawa-based woman who makes beauty products and delicious rum cake by hand. Everything smelled amazing and was packaged beautifully. 

The Black Justice Navigator Program has served Ottawa since 2000.

1 Beauty products made by i am MOV’N. 

i am MOV’N’s rum cake display with samples.

Through printouts available at each table, I learned about the effects of plants such as damiana (Turnera diffusa), karela (Momordica charantia), Christmas bush (Chromolaena odorata), and blue vervain (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis). Each of these plants has a long history of being gathered for the use of traditional medicine and tea.

We must also take a moment to discuss the feature presentation. Bush Medicine was produced by The Hub Collective, a “community-rooted” nonprofit based in Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The film explores traditional ecological knowledge, oral storytelling, and the preservation of the Grenadines’ cultural heritage through the lens of bush medicine. View it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mZ3a5pwYUY. 

The film also inspired the creation of Bush Medicine Revival, an illustrated guidebook that documents Bequia’s native bush medicines, their medicinal properties, spiritual significance, and practical uses. It can be accessed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D_ZxzgVydpRGlM1gE6F9cwZWyQYpeR7r/view. 

I found the documentary poignant and personal, appreciating its rich colours and the showcasing of stories across different generations. It proved to be an accessible and entertaining immersion into indigenous culture and

knowledge. 

The evening ended with the announcement of the silent auction winners. The dancefloor then open up for all. Suzette’s primary hope for the evening is that guests would leave “having learned something new and perhaps even discovered a bush tea or traditional practice they can incorporate into their own wellness journey, while gaining a deeper appreciation for the cultural and environmental richness of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.” 

I know I have. As Suzette promised, Cinema & Bush Brew was much more than a movie night. It was an evening of cultural celebration, education, and connection. I learned a great deal and enjoyed myself just as much.