The National Carnival Commission’s planned ‘Taste of Carnival’ is now spawning a true Trini-style taste of bacchanal at a time when many in the national community continue to question whether this endeavour was necessary at all.
From the get-go, the activity was questioned by the public after NCC chairman Winston “Gypsy” Peters announced it would cost between $25-30 million before the budget was revised to $15 million. It seems that from then things have been going awry.
The cost of the pods set up for spectators at the Queen’s Park Savannah venue is yet to be revealed. These pods, designed to help the NCC control crowd movement to prevent the spread of COVID-19, will cost anyone interested between $500 and $2,100 but could well end up costing a sizeable chunk of the project’s overall budget.
Not all sectors of the industry were fully on board with the ‘Taste of Carnival’ plan in the first place, with some believing Carnival should either be held later this year or shelved completely in favour of planning a major return next season.
Then there’s the question of prize money for the various segments. No artiste worth their salt wants to perform for free. Furthermore, having been denied the opportunity to earn a living from their art form for almost two years, they also want the assurance there is a sweetener in the pot for their efforts to sustain them ahead — especially given that the Government is yet to produce a real plan for the reopening of the entertainment sector.
It was perhaps therefore no surprise that the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) has threatened to abort this year’s National Calypso Monarch competition over limited funding for prizes. TUCO president Ainsley King pulled the plug on Friday night after ten competitors performed before judges at the Queen’s Park Savannah, after he discovered the budget was $1.5 million. This amount, King said, “cannot pay the prizes” although TUCO had scaled back the first place prize to $200,000. The National Extempo competition was also halted.
There is also the question of whether the events in the planned safe zone venues can meet their mandates, even with the requirement that all spectators must be fully vaccinated.
Carnival events by their very nature help to relieve stress and have the potential to take people’s minds away from the pain and trauma wrought by COVID-19. But it is the Trini mentality to “free up” which may make these events potential super spreaders.
We have already seen videos of spectators disregarding the safe zone protocols at some of the early events. This has prompted Ministry of Health officials to warn that the protocols must be followed. But surely, this must be followed up by the NCC ensuring there is compliance at all future events with proper monitoring of these activities.
It is a crying shame that the local artform is now being mired in this whirlwind of controversy when there was no need for this. One can only hope that this embarrassing hurdle created by those who should know better is soon removed and that the NCC does not end up leaving a sour “Taste of Carnival” 2022 in the public’s mouths.