The theme of this year’s Dimanche Gras show is A Tribute To Duke (Kelvin Pope). The announcement was made by Franz Lamkin, a commissioner of the National Carnival Commission (NCC). Lambkin, coordinator for Dimanche Gras, said it was most fitting since the cultural fraternity mourned the passing of Pope, 77, on January 13. Lambkin said Dimanche Gras, which will be staged at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, was expected to cost about $650,000.

Regarding Pope’s tribute, he said, “We will be paying tribute to Mighty Duke in the greater segment of the show. We felt we had to honour him. It is sad we lost him. We expect to make it a superlative presentation.” Lambkin, a joint 1994 Calypso Monarch with Morel Peters (Luta), did not want to divulge the details. However, he said Pope’s music would herald the various segments. “We will be using his hits like What Is A Calypso, Freakin Streakin, Dat Is Carnival, How Many More Must Die and Thunder, (1987 Road March),” he added.

Dimanche Gras costs $650,000

Lambkin said the show would cost about $650,000, overall. “The interest groups will be paying the prizes,” he said. He said more cameras would be positioned in the middle of the Savannah because of demands for better coverage. “We want to create maximum impact. We want to make it more media friendly and palatable to the foreigners. We need to be conscious about time,” Lambkin said.