Pan Trinbago to host four virtual Carnival events

Pan Trinbago president Beverley Ramsey-Moore has said at least four virtual events will take place over the period that should have been Carnival. She said these will be announced after a meeting between the central and regional executives of the organisation on January 16.

Ramsey-Moore said the events committee will present its recommendations to the central executive next Tuesday.

“All the categories, including the single pan, the small conventional, medium conventional and the large conventional, will have an opportunity to do something virtually for the period.

"Special focus will be placed on Pan Showdown and Sweetest Pan in the World for the large bands, Keeping the Vibes Alive for the medium bands, and We Believe will be for the single-pan bands. Hopefully once the discipline is maintained in TT, then I am sure that we as a movement, that our resiliency will definitely determine the outcome of these fruitful events.

She added, "We are working closely with WACK Radio, who will be assisting us in putting on these events. All covid19 protocols will be observed.”

She said the difficulty in having a meeting of the general membership was that this cannot currently take place.

“It would mean that we would have to have a huge gathering where we will have a quorum to take the various decisions, but the constitution didn’t cater for that. A constitution never caters for a pandemic. So when the general membership can’t meet to take decisions, then the central executive can make decisions.”

She said Pan Trinbago had already put on two successful telethons, for which the bands would have been pre-recorded and streamed live.

“We would have had our band enthusiasts from all over the world giving their donations and contributions.

"We will continue to work closely with all the various stakeholders to ensure that we provide some entertainment for them.”

Ramsey-Moore said this time is a difficult one for the steelband community, both the players and the administrators.

“We’re definitely on a downtime, and we have held discussions with our line ministry in terms of providing support, not only financial support but the various types of support that will ensure that at the end of this difficult period that we will all be here to continue the legacy of our ancestors.”