Last weekend, the Chinese community celebrated Chinese Arrival Day and this weekend it’s the turn of the Hindu community to observe Divali, a true case of east meeting east in culture. On Saturday night, Cotton Tree Foundation outdid itself in staging its eighth edition of Lawyers Can Cook at The House of Angostura in Laventille. Several of this country’s brilliant luminaries of law participated, including Desmond Allum, Gregory Delzin, Keith Scotland, Rajiv Persad and Ravi Rajkumar. A fun time was had by all in attendance, especially when Mungal Patasar & Pantar took to the stage to give a post-dinner performance. Hundreds converged on the Kayak Centre in Chaguaramas on Sunday for the annual Dragon Boat Race to celebrate Chinese Arrival Day. Aside from the exciting races, the day’s programme also included lots of live performances.

Further down the Western Main Road on the Chag peninsula, Wee International was impressing all at the launch of its C2K10 presentation—Tesoro del Caribe (Treasures of the Caribbean.) In terms of ambience, this launch was second to none, with committee members, in snazzy polo shirts, making guests feel right at home throughout the evening. Full marks to Ricky Davidson and his team. For more on Wee International’s launch, see (http://guardian.co.tt/features/life/2009/10/16/wee-international-display...). Namaskar and Shub Divali to my Hindu brothers and sisters. While I have to work on tomorrow’s holiday, I intend stealing some time from the office to visit at least one temple—El Dorado Shiv Mandir SDMS No 51—to share with my dear friends Nirmala and Ann. Special greetings to Kamla, Vashty, Basmatie, Kavita, Ravi and my favourite lecturer Dr Suruj Rambachan. By the way, birthday greetings to Sherry Persad from the staffers of Sunny Group of Companies.

The spoils of war

As our two telecommunications giants continue to wage war against each other for precious market share, culture and consumers are accruing huge profits. Digicel Rising Stars and bMobile Dance Off, two cultural initiatives, are unearthing some truly fantastic talent among the nation’s youth. With the Dance Off going through its final rounds, Digicel Rising Stars is only now warming up with last Saturday's pilot show, featuring Donelle Jones, Mandy Alexander, Jamal Ali, Iziah Kanhai and Daniel Mohammed, Akilah Wilson-Claxton and Afiyah Athill. At the end of it all, Akilah Wilson-Claxton was selected by the judges as a “wild card draw,” bringing the house down at Alchemy Club in Port-of-Spain, with her stirring rendition of Yolanda Adams’ Yet still I rise.
Both competitions carry a first prize of a whopping $100,000.

BLOODNOTES

• Soca Parang Festival in ‘puna

Besides my Divali outings, the one place I’m sure to be at this evening is Moonlighting Pub, on the Eastern Main Road, in Tunapuna, for the seventh annual edition of Ninja’s Soca Parang Fiesta. A must-attend event on the parang calendar, it showcases the best parang-soca exponents in the land, including Crazy, Baron, Marcia Miranda, Kenny J, Sugar Aloes, Marilyn Williams, Walter “Coro Coro” Taylor, Poser, Bongo Spear, Sweet Jean, Joseph Adams, Dee Diamond and many more. For those of you who can’t make it to Tunapuna tonight, there will be a live broadcast on The Vibe 105.1FM, from 9 pm, with a delayed telecast on Gayelle the Channel TV.

• Liam plays Four Seasons

T&T ambassador of pan Liam Teague continues to excel and soar to higher heights as he plies his trade abroad. The gifted and brainy south pannist will be the guest soloist with the Panama National Symphony on Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. The concert is scheduled for October 27 at the National Concert Theater of Panama in Panama City. In addition, Liam will be presenting a clinic on October 30 to the Danilo Perez Foundation. Danilo Perez is considered one of the greatest living jazz pianists in the world and his foundation is dedicated towards the musical development of the Panamanian young people. There are a number of people who are very keen on making the steelpan more prominent and visible in Panama, so it is Liam’s hope that this clinic and performance will play a role in making this goal a reality.

• Carnival come again

One outfit that is not prepared to pack up because of Government’s decision to ban all shows at the Hasley Crawford Stadium and Jean Pierre Complex is Randy Glasgow Productions (RGP). In fact, RGP has released a full slate of its events for C2K10. Tickets for all shows go on sale on January 1, 2010, nationwide, and at Ticketmaster USA, London and Canada. 

For further information,
e-mail: rgpltd2002@yahoo.com
or call (868)628-9158.

Randy Glasgow Productions 2010 Carnival Events:

• Fri Jan 22: T&T Carnival Comedy Fest 2 - Centre Point Mall, Chaguanas, 8.30 pm.

• Sat Jan 23: T&T Carnival Comedy Fest 2 - Guaracarra Park, Pointe a Pierre, 8.30pm

• Sun Jan 24: T&T Carnival Comedy Fest 2 - Centre of Excellence, Macoya, 5.30 pm.

• Fri Jan 29: Ladies Night Out - Anniversary 6 - Queens Park Oval, Woodbrook, 9 pm.

• Sat Feb 6: Chutney Brass 2010 - Chutney Meets Bollywood - Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre, 7 pm.

• Fri Feb 19: Alternative Comedy Festival - Guaracarra Park, Pointe-a-Pierre, 8.30 pm.

• Sat Feb 20: Alternative Comedy Festival - Queens's Park Oval, 8.30 pm.

• Sun Feb 21: Alternative Comedy Festival - Centre Point Mall,Chag, 5.30 pm.

• Fri Feb 26: Alternative Comedy Festival - Dwight Yorke Stadium,T'go, 8 pm.

• Sat Feb 27: Alternative Comedy Festival - Centre Of Excellence, 8 pm.

• Sun Feb 28: Alternative Comedy Festival - Centre Point Mall,Chag, 5.30 pm.

• Sat Mar 6: Alternative Comedy Festival - Arima Velodrome, 8 pm.