TriniView.com Article
Event Date: September 30, 2006
Posted: October 04, 2006
The Carifesta IX Closing Ceremony brought to an end a largely disorganized, disappointing and characterless 10 day event filled with blunders at every turn. Basic technical requirements were lacking during the Carifesta celebrations causing multiple disruptions in the presentations and resulting in the disappointment of many of the guests to the country.
At almost every event one or more of the countries were unable to perform due to badly organized programmes including the late start of events and the lengthy time taken to set up between performances. Because Trinidad and Tobago was not fully prepared to take on the Carifesta IX festivities they made a mess of what could have been a splendid and blissful occasion. The evidence of the poor work was glaring and extremely embarrassing for residents of Trinidad and Tobago as well as those involved in the Carifesta IX productions who were sometimes found explaining and apologizing to the contingents who were victims of poor planning on the part of the host country.
Although at several events, particularly the opening and closing events, Carifesta IX did receive good turnouts, this did not necessarily equate with grandness. In fact, some of the guest countries left early because of their pain and disgust about the way they were treated. If ever Trinidad and Tobago is to host the Carifesta Series again, they should take note of their errors and take serious steps to correct them.
At the start of the closing ceremony Suriname, Jamaica, Anguilla and Antigua and Barbuda (in that order) were the only contingents from other parts of the region that made the march inside the stadium and to the stands. They lacked vigor and energy and nonchalantly made their way to their seats.
Visitors to the stadium were treated to pan by the Exodus Steelband Orchestra and the voices of the Bahamas Chorale before the formal speeches began.
Festival Director of Carifesta IX, Mrs. Joy Caesar, began the formal proceedings by officially welcoming all to the closing ceremony. She expressed that we, the people of the Caribbean, are on the world stage and that the evidence is in the varying talents of the achievers in the Caribbean and South America.
Also present to bid farewell was the CARICOM Youth Ambassador from Suriname, Yldiz Beighle. She thanked the government of Trinidad and Tobago for having youth involvement in this event and took pride in the youth who presented regional culture in a large way. She also remarked that Carifesta is our pride and export culture and that we need to ensure that our culture survives eternally. She ended her speech with a presentation of a gift of appreciation on behalf of the youths of the nation to the Minister of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs, Senator Joan Yuille-Williams.
In the segment that followed - 'The Caribbean Capsule' - there were presentations from some of the Caribbean islands. From Trinidad and Tobago there was a Bèlè dance by the Malick Folk Performers; from St. Kitts and Nevis there was a performance by the Royalties Band featuring lead vocalist Tara Brandy; from Jamaica, the Hardford Cultural Group performed; from Guyana, the National Dance Company of Guyana performed (which was delayed due to technical difficulties); from Cuba, the Deboson band; from Antigua and Barbuda, the Sunny Dale Dancers; and from Dominica there were performances from Michele Henderson and the legendary Ofelia Marie. This segment ended with performances by Surge and Adesh Samaroo from Trinidad and Tobago.
The feature address was presented by the Secretary General of CARICOM, the Honourable Dr. Edwin Carrington. He expressed great honour in addressing the audience present at the closing ceremony and began with the cliché, "All good things must come to an end." and added that, "...all very good things must come to an end." Dr. Carrington intimated that this Carifesta IX gave credence to its theme, "Celebrating our people, contesting the world stage" stating that Carifesta has brought the people of the region closer together. He also stated that Trinidad and Tobago was transformed into the meeting place of the people of the region and that Carifesta IX was the bridge between what Carifesta was (in the past) and what it will become. According to Mr. Carrington, work coming out of Carifesta forces us to examine our history and our present, should fill rather than drain the public purse and expressed thanks to those who had contributed and participated in Carifesta IX. He ended by stating that Carifesta celebrates and will continue to celebrate the many textures and layers of the cultural fabric of the Caribbean and that he looks forward to the next Carifesta celebrations in 2008.
After the brief speech by Dr. Carrington, the Carifesta IX drummers accompanied dancers who propitiated the ancestors for watching over the 10 day Carifesta event and bid them their leave until the next Carifesta meeting in 2008.
The Chinese Lion Dance then initialed the passing of the cultural baton to the Bahamas, followed by a Carnival-like celebration around the tracks of the Hasley Crawford Stadium.
The closing address was delivered by the Minister of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs, Senator Joan Yuille-Williams who presented Dr. Edwin Carrington with a replica of the logo of Carifesta IX.
Other presentations of tokens during that night were given to all the countries that participated in Carifesta, some of whom were absent. Mr. Earl Lovelace was the recipient of the Louis Bennet Award. Also receiving awards were Mr. Austin Clarke, Professor Rex Nettleford, Ms. Ofelia Marie and Mr. Leroy Clarke who was honored with the Master Artist Award which would be presented at a post-Carifesta IX event.
The ceremony ended with the songs "Unofficial Integration," by second place winner of the Carifesta Calypso Monarch Competiton, Morrel 'Luta' Peters, and "What a Wonderful Feeling" by Isaac Blackman and the Love Circle.
The discourtesy of the Carifesta IX organizers to some sections of the media was also clear on the closing night. The stage stood several meters away from the tracks which made it difficult for photographers to capture some of the moments that were carried out there. It may have been that that aspect of media coverage was not thought-out by the organizers of Carifesta IX, but that is further testimony to the thoughtlessness and inefficiencies of the Carifesta IX Committee.
Carifesta IX Closing Ceremony in pictures:
www.triniview.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=98978
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