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Dear Sir,

The cast of Up with People departed Bermuda on Sunday as we concluded out first tour of the island in ten years.  

Despite highly unusual and uncooperative weather patterns, we are excited and gratified by what we have accomplished together during the past two weeks.

Mother Nature did her best to dampen our finale at Snorkel Park. I know many of you planned to be in attendance for the show.  Like most of the island, we were pummelled with torrential rain and pounding winds for about an hour at 4pm which proved too much for our lighting and video equipment, rendering them unusable.  

As scattered showers continued into the evening we reluctantly made the decision to cancel the show due to overall safety considerations for the cast and audience.

But as luck would have it around 7:30pm the weather cleared just as a number of host families and diehard audience members arrived. Knowing we would be out of daylight by 8:30pm we made the spur-of-the-moment decision to run 45 minutes of the show.

At 7:45pm, the cast took the stage with full sound and costumes and entertained approximately 500 people.  The rundown included  Sound of Peace which the cast performed with children from the St. George's Prep School Choir.  The cast was even able to perform, with approximately 20 of our Bermudian alumni, the special medley we put together for the tour including two vintage Talbot Brothers songs. It was a wonderful, spontaneous experience for everyone that I am sure will be remembered by all and a true testimony to the can-do spirit Up with People and Bermuda share.

Here are a few of the places we have visited plus highlights from the past two weeks for which we all, sponsors, UWP alumni and members of the cast can be proud:

n Five days of community service projects across the island;

n Physical Abuse Centre;

n Keep Bermuda Beautiful;

n Habitat for Humanity;

n Lefroy House;

n WindReach;

n Sunshine League;

n Casemates Barracks;

n Maritime Museum Keep;

n Westgate Correctional Facility;

n Meals on Wheels;

n Special Preview performances;

n CedarBridge Academy;

n St. David's Native Festival;

n Movie Night at the Arboretum;

n City Hall;

n Meetings with, among others, Governor Sir Richard Gozney, Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, Minister Col. David Burch.

I am also happy to report that we have interviewed nearly two dozen young Bermudians who are interested in travelling with future casts.  Two are even trying to join Cast B 2009 which begins rehearsal in just two weeks. The Bermuda legacy will continue!

While we have all left the island we will continue to be represented here by a vigorous and energize contingent of UWP alumni who will become our stewards in Bermuda and will maintain our new Bermuda charitable status.

Thank you again to the people of Bermuda for all you have done to make this tour a remarkable success.  It was wonderful to reestablish the connection and bond between Up with People and the people of Bermuda. We look forward to being back within the next two to three years.

Phil Worcester

Field Marketing & Operations Manager, Up with People

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