THA Chief Secretary: Date for October Carnival coming soon

Tobago is preparing to announce a date for its Carnival celebrations very soon.

For the first time, Tobago's Carnival will be held in October –separate from Trinidad's celebration.

The Division of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation announced in March that Carnival stakeholders, including the Tobago Festivals Commission Ltd, unanimously agreed not to participate in the national Taste of Carnival events in February.

Although there were no major events, there were portrayals of traditional Carnival characters at a number of venues on the island.

On Monday, after the naming ceremony of the Castara fishing facility, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine told the media his team is almost ready to announce a date for the start of its Carnival.

He said this week the division will also be announcing the committee set up to manage these events and other plans for the Carnival going forward.

A consultant from Trinidad will be a part of the planning process to guide the committee in the execution of the events.

“We don't want it to fail at all and we think the Trinidad public is greatly anticipating this. In fact, they're anxious about coming to Tobago space for the Tobago Carnival as well.”

He said the division will soon announce a new Tobago Festivals Commission board.

“We will see quite a number of new faces to the space, quite a bit of young people involved on those boards and you will see a kind of dynamism that you have not seen before. So that will be exciting.”