Kings and Queens return to Dimanche Gras

Kings and Queens will make a triumphant return to the big yard.

Colin Lucas, National Carnival Commission (NCC) chairman, made this announcement at the launch of Carnival 2018 yesterday at the VIP Lounge, Queen’s Park Savannah.

Although Lucas spoke of the reality of having to organise Carnival in a short space of time, already in the works are plans to reintroduce some elements to Dimanche Gras, and synergies with the organisers of Socadrome.

He said, as he addressed stakeholders and the media, “I know everyone is saying, ‘What is going on with Dimanche Gras?’ We have had many surprises over the years with Dimanche Gras.

“We will retain elements of calypso and we are reintroducing King and Queens. There will be pan. We have received proposal submissions from several people for the Dimanche Gras show,” Lucas added.

Asked about the cost, Lucas said a budget of between $1.3 million and under $3 million, excluding prize money, has been allocated.

Next week, he said, the commission would be in a position to announce who would be the overall producer of Dimanche Gras. As for the Socadrome, Lucas said it is part of the Carnival experience and discussions were “ongoing to see how we can get greater synergy between the Socadrome experience and the Savannah experience.”

Lucas said pan was allocated $20.5 million, calypso was allocated $6.8 million and mas received $10.5 million.

This comes even after Finance Minister Colm Imbert said there will be a one-third cut in financial donations for all events which receive sponsorship from his ministry and its agencies. It also comes after the National Lotteries Control Board pulled its sponsorship from events such as Chutney Soca Monarch and Downtown Carnival.

When asked about the effect these reductions would have on Carnival, Lucas said, “Less money or less resources generally, often but not always means a diminution of quality. As the honourable minister (Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly) pointed out, we are a creative people. The economic realities of TT 2018 have not sidestepped Carnival. Those realities, calypso and pan and mas are not immune to the effects of those realities. We have to take them in stride, we have to internalise them, but we have to see how we can minimise diminution of quality. Now that is easier said than done, but the one thing it requires is will and the mindset of all of the players.”

“As important as Carnival is to the life of TT, to its very persona, (it) cannot ease the economic climate. We have not been told of any further cuts to our budget. I hope none will be forthcoming but, if they are, we will just have to deal with it.”

Asked if the time had come for some of the events to look at their business models, Lucas said, “There are two answers to that. The first one is yes and the second one is: absolutely, because it cannot be business as usual. When you have the attendance at some of the main shows at Carnival decreasing every year, at some point, you must tell yourself something is wrong and you need to revisit this.