It was definitely a family affair on Sunday afternoon as scores of children, accompanied by their moms and dads and other family members, gathered at Carnival Village in Basseterre (St. Kitts) to see Diego and Dora Adventures on Ice.

The event was organised by the Youth Department in association with the A& D Communications out of Puerto Rico.

Other popular TV cartoon characters present were Sponge Bob, Barney, Baby Bop, Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Simpsons, The Smurfs, Bob the Builder, Garfield, Scooby Doo and Shaggy.

Synthetic ice was used and the characters danced and interacted onstage, using figure skates to move about.

Speaking exclusively to Sun St. Kitts/Nevis, one of the members, Aixa Ferrer (who plays the Alvin and Dora characters) explained that the production team has been in existence for eight years and that there are over 40 members.

Ferrer said her team has been getting a lot of good reviews from patrons, who have said they enjoyed the show. She explained that figure skating is being used in the production so as to educate persons about the art.

It is understood that the production team is on a Caribbean tour and would have performed in Antigua the following day. The tour is expected to finish in August.

Additionally, there are plans to visit Haiti, sometime after 14 Feb., where a 24-foot container of goods will be distributed to assist the Haitians.

Director of Youth Geoffrey Hanley told the SUN the show was a well put together production.

"It was somewhat different, not necessarily the characters, but the way in which they presented the show and the hi-tech they used. I think the children were excited to see the fake ice, although they came with the intention of looking for real ice," he said.

Hanley further stated that the Youth Department is pleased to be associated with a show of that nature. "… The public can look forward to more events like these in the near future because we are trying to do the holistic approach and we thought that this was a nice way of starting our year of activities by communicating with the A& D communications out of Puerto Rico," he stated.