Hillsborough, Carriacou - Plans for the staging of the 45th annual Carriacou Regatta Festival have been ongoing with a number of pre-regatta activities. They have included a karaoke every Friday night at the Regatta Jupa. This Sunday, July 18th, the Regatta Committee will stage two activities. The first, commencing at 6 a.m., will be the Grenada Public Service Cooperative Credit Union marathon. The race will take runners from the Regatta Jupa going through the south of the island. On Sunday afternoon, at the Esplanade in Hillsborough, the annual sea food festival will be held. Duane Williams, who assumed chairmanship of the Regatta Committee in 2009, is also heading the committee this year. He is appealing to the people across Carriacou and Petite Martinique to support this Sunday’s activities. The Carriacou Regatta Committee, managed by a team of volunteers since its inception in 1965, is facing a number of challenges, including meeting outstanding debts. Although making payment of $35,608 in outstanding debts for 2006-2007, the committee has been recently presented with outstanding debts of $25,983.00 Regatta, regarded as one of the largest summer festivals in the region, is a significant contributor to the 13-square-miles island Carriacou. The 2010 Carriacou Regatta festival will officially commence on Sunday, July 25th, with a church service. By Deanna Isaac