Caribbean island set to host the first ever dive festival, June 11-18, 2010. Tobago, sister island to the home of the world famous cultural explosion, Carnival, and a classic example of old-world Caribbean charm, will be taking the party beneath the sea this year with its first dive festival. Themed Underwater Carnival, the event is designed to showcase the destination’s rich and diverse eco-system and the explosion of marine life that can be found off the island’s shores. Hosted by the Tobago House of Assembly Tourism Division (THA), the Association of Tobago Dive Operators and with the support of the Tourism Development Company (TDC), the week-long event is scheduled to take place from June 11-18, 2010.

Activities during the event include: Daily diving off the northern and southern parts of Tobago Amateur underwater photography contest with special prizes Amateur underwater photography contest with special prizes Seminars on photography (hosted by professionals from Dive Training, Scuba Diving and Sport Diver Magazines); marine biology; equipment care; fish identification Testing and demonstrations of Scubapro dive gear and Scubapro Kids snorkel gear and SeaLife cameras Parties and Happy Hours Discover Scuba for the kids Rogest Kids Gallery – A fun, 2-day workshop hosted by renowned Canadian artist, Ron Steven targeted at kids between the ages of 6-11

“This is the first event of its kind on the island and we hope that dive enthusiasts and lovers of the sea will travel to Tobago to enjoy all the events we have scheduled,” said Warren Solomon, director of tourism for the THA. “Trinidad is known for its annual celebration of life, Carnival, and our goal is to put the spotlight on Tobago’s amazing undersea world and one-of-a-kind aquatic offerings.”

With the wide selection of scheduled activities, the festival will provide both experienced and amateur divers opportunities to fine-tune their skills while exploring the enchanting world beneath its aquamarine and cobalt blue waters. Key events include: an amateur underwater photography competition with cameras supplied by Sealife—a leading manufacturer of underwater cameras and accessories for marine photography; dive and photography seminars hosted in part by Dive Training, Scuba Diving and Sport Diver magazines; dive and snorkel gear demonstrations for both adults and kids with equipment supplied by Scubapro—a premier producer of scuba diving equipment; Discover Scuba for kids and the Rogest Kids Gallery, a two-day aquatic art workshop for children between the ages of six and eleven, hosted by renowned Canadian artist, Ron Steven.

During the festival, Sealife, a leading manufacturer of underwater cameras and accessories for aquatic photography, will provide marine shutter-bugs with free product samples to use on dives as well as tips on taking photos and techniques to review and edit images. In addition, Scubapro, a premier producer of scuba diving equipment and a proud member of the Johnson Outdoors Inc. family of companies, will provide festival participants with the opportunity to tryout snorkel and dive equipment throughout the weeklong event.