Chewstick's Third Annual Cup Match Beachfest is taking place at Horseshoe Bay tomorrow.

Event organisers have promised an entire day of fun and frolics to keep festival goers in the mood.

Beachfest 2008 starts at noon with DJs playing the hottest music. Sports and games take place between 1 and 5 p.m. Prize-giving, raffle draw, and East vs West Tug-O-War will take place between 5 and 6 p.m.

Then the best of the Islands artists take the stage as the sun sets.

Once the live performers are finished the DJs get back into the mix until the fun is done!

They have an array of entertainment lined up, plus games.

In addition, they have a line-up of local acts from Ninja Cutty to Secret Po-Po.

Chewstick's Gavin Smith spoke to The Royal Gazette about what crowds can expect during the day and night's events.

"I think the best part of Beachfest is that it's fun!" said the organiser.

"It's not your typical beach party where it's about profiling; this is a true celebration where people have a blast getting sweaty and sandy, playing, dancing and vibing together, all for free!"

The deejays range from Vybez Alliance to the Dirkistan Freedom Fighters.

"The deejays that are playing at Beachfest have two major things in common: One, they enjoy playing to diverse audiences, and two, they absolutely love to play music and entertain the crowd," said Mr. Smith.

"All of them have their individual tastes and styles, but they are all guaranteed to keep the party going."

In addition to the deejays, Chewstick also has a massive line up of local acts.

"Well for those that weren't there last year you missed some incredible performances by Tiny T, Ninja Cutty and BLAC who managed to keep people dancing even when the rain came pouring down," he said.

"We're definitely looking forward to them again this year, and due to that success, this year we've extended the performance hours and added several more acts to the list that bring more variety such as Secret Po Po, Freddie G and Stephan Johnstone adding rock, R & B and poetry to the mix. "This has been a good year for Bermudian artists and we're pleased to have some of the more well known artists involved, especially Roache Killa, Raymon Clarke and Stan Seymour to name a few."

The Beachfest Cup Football Tournament is the Island's only beach football competition, explained Mr. Smith.

"It is one of the highlights of the whole day," he said.

"It takes place alongside the Beachfest Volleyball Tournament and I encourage all teams for both activities to be there early if you want to get your team in.

"Both are four-a-side tournaments and teams must sign up on the day, check in is at 1 p.m. and kick-off is at 2 p.m.

"The cost is $10 per player or $40 a team with the winner getting a cash prize as well as a slew of prize items and some serious bragging rights!"

Aside from the tournaments above, if sitting down is more your thing than the Dominoes games might be more your speed.

"Well being Bermuda is like a direct cross between the UK and Caribbean; no doubt dominoes is big in Bermuda, but it tends to be played more casually at small gatherings," he said.

"We've partnered with Barmuvinjam to bring this together cause they are big time Domino players. This will be a two-player team tournament with the winners taking the title and some sweet prizes, it's free to enter but you've got to sign up at 1 p.m. to get on the table."

Mr. Smith added that he thought the East versus West Tug-O-War was the most exciting event of the day.

"Everyone jumps in to help out," he said.

"Last year we had the East ladies win in the women's round with the West winning the free for all. This year we're going to have three rounds men's, women's and all hands on deck!

"This is the finale to the daytime activities before transitioning into the performances and night time vibes."

In the advertisements for Beachfest 2008, the organisers used the word "lix," regarding its meaning Mr. Smith explained: "Well 'lix' is Bermudian vernacular for drinks, short for liquor, and this year we're having soft drinks for $3 and hard lix for $5 and you get a raffle ticket and $1 Heineken cash to play Fun Crown and Anchor for prizes!

"We are fortunate to have Heineken as our title sponsor, which is our primary revenue stream for underwriting the event, enabling us to keep it free."

After finally receiving clearance to bring the Cup Match and County Game tradition of Crown and Anchor to Beachfest, Mr. Smith said: "After many years of trying to get Crown and Anchor included, this will be the first year we will be including it and we're very excited about it.

"To be clear it is not for money, it's for prizes; when you buy a drink you get a raffle ticket and 1$ in Heineken Cash to play Fun Crown and Anchor for awesome prizes.

"We'll have a prize tent where you'll be able to trade in your winnings for bathing suits, football jerseys, T-shirts and more!"

In addition, he said: "We are also pleased to be raising funds for The Menelik Foundation, which is a charity that plans to develop a performance arts high school in Bermuda.

"Whatever we make from the bar and sponsorship goes directly to the cost of the event and at the end whatever we have left over we donate to this worthy cause."

This year they have put a lot more emphasis on refining the event, to increase the quality of the sound system, overall activities, and artist performances, added Mr. Smith.

"There will definitely be some surprises on the day you just have to be there to find out!" he said.

"This is a true community event that would not be possible without the support of our sponsors.

"Also every year we have amazing support from the artists, deejays and volunteers who donate their time and talents to make this event the incredible success it has become."

For more information, look up Beachfest 2008 on Facebook or telephone 504-2439.