On De Scene : St.Lucia Carnival Official Opening (PART ONE)
>> Wednesday, June 3, 2009
De News:
Diamond Steel,
Martinique,
St. Lucia Carnival
Well, this is the event most persons part of Carnival were waiting for , just the Official declaration that St.Lucia Carnival Season is open!
I got there about 2:30 p.m. and expected show time to be 3:00 p.m. Yes yours truly was on time! However , show began with the National Anthem at 3:30 p.m. when M.C. Pringles a.k.a Superman kicked things off. The Director of the Cultural Development Foundation Kenny "Boots" Samuel gave a few remarks about what to expect for the season. Interestingly enough he made mention of the global crisis and how we as St.Lucians need to embrace the arts amid the “hard times”. He continued as he made mention of the main sponsor of St.Lucia Carnival which is the telecommunication company DIGICEL. Digicel was out in numbers handing out promo flyers as well as top up’s for the patrons. Also they gave out 30 phones that evening. I say some Lucians got it good!
The show continued with a presentation from a rural community, Dennery, as they gave the island a little showcase of what their Community Carnival will entail.
Well I must be honest with you guys ,one of de main reasons I enjoy de opening is to see all de competing bands on one stage with their display, and also dats when you see everyone who contributes to this production called Carnival!
Don’t you love de sound of pan? Well Lime Diamond Steel Orchestra, who are last year winners of panorama, gave the crowd a flash back of classic tunes on de pan and even went to giving us “Meet Superblue” ! Ah tell you pan music was sounding sweet!
Lime Diamond Steel Orchestra
I got there about 2:30 p.m. and expected show time to be 3:00 p.m. Yes yours truly was on time! However , show began with the National Anthem at 3:30 p.m. when M.C. Pringles a.k.a Superman kicked things off. The Director of the Cultural Development Foundation Kenny "Boots" Samuel gave a few remarks about what to expect for the season. Interestingly enough he made mention of the global crisis and how we as St.Lucians need to embrace the arts amid the “hard times”. He continued as he made mention of the main sponsor of St.Lucia Carnival which is the telecommunication company DIGICEL. Digicel was out in numbers handing out promo flyers as well as top up’s for the patrons. Also they gave out 30 phones that evening. I say some Lucians got it good!
The show continued with a presentation from a rural community, Dennery, as they gave the island a little showcase of what their Community Carnival will entail.
Well I must be honest with you guys ,one of de main reasons I enjoy de opening is to see all de competing bands on one stage with their display, and also dats when you see everyone who contributes to this production called Carnival!
Don’t you love de sound of pan? Well Lime Diamond Steel Orchestra, who are last year winners of panorama, gave the crowd a flash back of classic tunes on de pan and even went to giving us “Meet Superblue” ! Ah tell you pan music was sounding sweet!
Lime Diamond Steel Orchestra
This year St.Lucia will have a total of 15 competing bands which is the highest in recent times , as to de order of bands that has not been given . 2009 will see the incorporation of 4 Martinique Bands in our Parade. This past February saw the cancellation of Carnival in Martinique due to the protest action by workers against the French Government. And I feel so pleased to know they will not miss out on de fun in 2009 because they will help make St.Lucia Carnival Bigger and maybe Greater ! So this is gonna be a different look for us this year although, St.Lucia culture is heavily influenced by French so to me its de perfect marriage!
The show progressed as each band came on with their display with detailed description of each section. All band leaders on attention as their competitors came on. Now this was not de first time most costumes were being displayed, as most Mas Bands launched ahead of the Official Opening. Nonetheless it was the first time ALL bands were on de same stage ! O lawd , aint gonna lie my feet was hurting , and personally felt de show was being dragged.
To be continued…
Peace and Soca
Rochelle
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