On De Scene: St. Lucia Carnival 2009 REVIEW

For the past few days , I have been struggling to write a review of the year's most anticipated event. And this struggle was by no means due to overwhelming excitment but rather disappointment. St.Lucia Carnival 2009 took to me " MANY years backward". I am not too sure whether it was the lack of music variety or the lack of organisation by Cultural Development Foundation , whatever it was, it LACKED! Many will agree there was "no vibe", I believe revellers played mas since it is the routine. Do not get me wrong, the parties and some events delievered, as this year I witnessed "A-CLASS" performances by our artists . The torrential showers on Carnival Monday, almost seemed like a cry for better, and boy did it pour!

Tony Nicholas from the Star St.Lucia Newspaper, put together this article which hit every single nail on the head. I am going to use this opportunity to share it with you all.

Maybe there was divine reasoning in the heavy showers which almost washed away the finale of Saint Lucia’s Carnival 2009, on Monday July 20 and Tuesday July 21. Maybe just maybe, it was a lesson taught, that a seed not properly grounded in fertile soil or rooted in anything, can easily be washed away. Then again maybe it was a spiritual cleansing of sorts too. Or could it simply be that those upstairs thought that there was so much uninspiring and uninformed commentary coming from those television commentators that it was best that they be washed away. Carnival 2009
did not have a pleasant scent and was more like a cheap bottle of imitation perfume bought on Canal Street. But truth be told some of the problems are perennial, like the lack of venues and facilities and even the toilet conditions at the Mindoo Phillip Park, which we couldn’t be serious about when we invite persons like Joey and his crew from CBS here. Then, we are still struggling to get it right with sound and starting
shows on time. Sure there were a few good events this year—Groovy Soca,
Inter-commercial house calypso, junior carnival and calypso semi-finals.
Added to that some of the non-CDF events helped put a spark in the carnival
engine like Colour Me Red, Wet Fete, Cooler Fete, NG Soca Stage launch party
and Outrageous-Sexy in Black. But coming down to the wire, Carnival experienced an anti-climax for me... Continue

As a lover of Carnival and Soca , I really do hope our players in the carnival scene from CDF , Sponsors, Band Leaders, Producers, and us all go back to the drawing board and make 2010 a replica of the good old years! It is high time we ALL stop accepting mediocrity for Carnival and I am not pertaining strictly to the parade; I mean everything that embodies Carnival !

"As great as Saint Lucia’s carnival has undoubtedly been over the last few years, it has turned into a selfish beast, with no place to rest its head, seemingly careless and without reasoning as to whom or what it devours. Therefore the beauty is being overshadowed even in the creativity and music, by those who really have no love for it and care less about its history and meaning."

Source : The Star St.Lucia