TV blackout of kiddies Carnival on purpose

A decision was taken not to broadcast the 2020 Red Cross Children’s Carnival on TV this year to get people out of their homes to see the live show at the Queen’s Park Savannah.

Speaking to members of the media on Saturday, TT Red Cross Society president, Jill De Bourg said the decision was made because the organisation wanted people to bring their picnic bags and for family members to witness the show, if only for a few hours.

“Red Cross Children’s Carnival continues to be a show. Not a road parade but a show. We are looking for ways to continue to demonstrate the creativity and diversity of our population.”

She said the aim was to integrate other aspects of the culture including dance, soca, calypso, pan, and more. She said it was a work in progress and the organisation intended to engage as many stakeholders as possible to enhance future shows.

She said this year the society distributed complimentary tickets to both elderly and children’s homes. She said encouraging people to come out was more important than gate sales. Adding that it was more about having people in the audience for the children to feel they were loved and appreciated.

While attendance for the 64th Red Cross Children’s Carnival was not overwhelming, participation in the mas was.

De Bourg said there was an increase in the number of bands registering, from 273 last year to 313. She added there was still room to grow because approximately 300 individuals and bands were not the capacity of TT’s creativity.

“We want to make sure that our culture, our children mas is in good hands and there is a future so I will always encourage more bandleaders to step forward.”

To those who say mas is not for children, she pointed out that children's mas was usually tastefully portrayed and the masqueraders did not “wine and jam” on the stage.

She added that children’s mas was about “planting seeds of curiosity in our culture” and exposing them to TT’s history. She said it was the only way to ensure the country had designers and bandleaders in the future.

Asked about the quality of the mas seen on Saturday, she said, “For me children’s mas continues to be the place to see real mas...The bandleaders show time and time again their talent; they show their love and commitment to our culture. You see creativity, and you see innovation, you see true wire bending, which is something I think, to some extent, it may be slightly disappearing in the adult mas.”

De Bourg also spoke to the challenge of funding. She said the projected budget was $350,000 and since the society was committed to having a successful event every year, it continued to try to get corporate sponsors to invest in culture, including “in-kind” sponsorship.