SAN­DRA L BLOOD

The World Steel­pan Thrust of T&T (WSTTT), led by Bertel Git­tens Jr, and High­landers Steel Or­ches­tra (HSO), di­rect­ed by Robert Her­nan­dez, will host the sec­ond an­nu­al Bertram “Bertie” Mar­shall Na­tion­al Steel­pan Quiz & Spelling Bee for Chil­dren to­mor­row from 11 am to 3 pm at IMAX, One Wood­brook Place.

Last year’s edi­tion was held at HSO’s pa­n­yard in Suc­cess Vil­lage, Laven­tille, but the or­gan­is­ers opt­ed for a change of venue this year to pro­vide bet­ter seat­ing, an en­riched am­bi­ence, and a re­fresh­ing change of en­vi­ron­ment for stu­dents, who re­hearse dai­ly in pa­n­yards.

Eight teams, with four com­peti­tors each, will com­pete in this year’s event. All par­tic­i­pants are 18 years and un­der, rep­re­sent­ing both sec­ondary schools and steel or­ches­tras. Tro­phies will be award­ed to the top three teams, and all com­peti­tors will re­ceive cash prizes.

Last year, the Hen­ry Car­ring­ton Team of High­landers emerged vic­to­ri­ous.

The sec­ondary school fi­nal­ists are Suc­cess Laven­tille, Mor­vant Laven­tille, and Rus­sell Lat­apy High School, while the steel­band rep­re­sen­ta­tives in­clude Phoenix, High­landers, and the Di­a­ton­ic Pan In­sti­tute.

Or­gan­is­ers have promised an up­grad­ed ex­pe­ri­ence this year, ad­dress­ing feed­back from last year’s event.

The cel­e­bra­tions con­tin­ue on Sun­day—World Steel­pan Day—with a prize-giv­ing cer­e­mo­ny at High­landers’ pa­n­yard, 34 East­ern Main Road (Cor­ner of Williams Street), Suc­cess Vil­lage, Laven­tille.

En­ter­tain­ment will fea­ture Pink Pan­ther, Deron Sandy, Uni Stars, Phoenix, Siparia Del­tones, HSO, and Di­a­ton­ic Pan In­sti­tute. These events are made pos­si­ble through the sup­port of Mer­le’s Hair­dress­ing Sup­plies Ltd, Unit Trust Cor­po­ra­tion, and Seaboard Ma­rine.

Tick­ets cov­er­ing both events are avail­able at High­landers’ pa­n­yard or by call­ing 359-3090 or 797-5887.