Festival Radio turns on for Carnival

After a successful run at Carifesta XVI, Festival Radio is back for Carnival 2020.

Festival Radio is an online radio operation produced by Trini Good Media, the company run by journalists Ardene Sirjoo and Franka Philip.

For seven days in the run up to Carnival, Festival Radio will provide daily four-hour broadcasts packed with interviews and discussions. They will also broadcast on Ash Wednesday with a special wrap up and celebration programme.

"Trinidad Carnival is our ultimate festival," said Sirjoo. "We love the buzz, the creativity, the excitement and of course, the bacchanal that makes our Carnival so unique."

Festival Radio which begins on Monday, will be based at the Home of Carnival, the Queen's Park Savannah.

"The NCC has been extremely helpful in facilitating us," Sirjoo said. "And it makes total sense for us to be located in the heart of the Carnival."

Philip said Trini Good Media was encouraged by the response Festival Radio got at Carifesta.

"We were really happy with how Carifesta went. People from across the diaspora reached out to compliment us about the mix of content we provided," she said. "We intend to do just as well this time, especially because our diaspora folks are itching for news from home."

For Carifesta, Festival Radio ran daily nine-hour broadcasts but for Carnival 2020, there will be a more compact schedule aimed at the drive time audience.

Philip said they will cover a range of topics including, the emergence of local dancehall artists like Trinidad Killa in soca, the new generation of Traditional Mas creators and making our national festival "greener".

Festival Radio's broadcasts start at 3 pm daily, except on Tuesday, which begins at 1 pm.

The livestream can be accessed on the website, trinigoodmedia.com as well as on the social media pages for Instagram and Facebook.

"Listeners can take Festival Radio with them, listen on their phones and mobile devices as well as on the desktop," Philip said.

To learn more about Festival Radio, visit the website trinigoodmedia.com or check the social platforms @trinigoodmedia on Instagram or facebook.com/trinigoodmedia.