Carnival time again

THOSE WHO suffer from Carnival tabanca whenever the season is over may be in luck. Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell has a vision for the festival, and in that vision it happens all year round.

“There are many other months in the calendar,” Mr Mitchell said on Friday, speaking at the launch of a weekend of activities put on by Carnival bands. “We may have a carnival in July or we should have a carnival or an event every other month.”

The minister explained this is the vision of his ministry, which wants an entire season organised so that people who cannot come for Carnival can participate in band launches and, as he put it, “experience our culture.”

So committed is Mr Mitchell to this vision that apparently his own ministry planned to do this last year, yet, for reasons unstated, was not able to plan it in time.

Carnival is obviously a big tourism draw and a key revenue-earner, not only from the money spent by foreign nationals and members of the local diaspora who return annually, but also in terms of local cultural stakeholders who use the festival to showcase their talent.

But the festival is not just some simplistic “product” which can be tinkered with at the whim of a minister, without consultation with stakeholders, residents or even participants.

For instance, Mr Mitchell would do well to explain what exactly he proposes, given that before the pandemic, Carnival was already a year-long endeavour for most participants and relevant professionals; there was already, albeit informally, a “band launch season,” and the build-up to the festival has always been as intense, if not more so, than the actual two days of revelry themselves.

The determination of when those two days occur has always been tied to the Lenten calendar, which has itself given TT Carnival its special quality, in addition to linking it to similar Lenten carnivals all over the world. The whole point of Carnival, theoretically, is that it marks a special occasion, even as it is part of a year-long cycle.

It may well be that given the success of last weekend’s Tribe Family of Bands event, Mr Mitchell felt the winds were in his sails.

But his plans also to make Ariapita Avenue into a party strip that will effectively be the epicentre of his vision may not fly as easily.

Woodbrook residents should be consulted over any changes that might increase or prolong pollution (noise, garbage and worse) levels and disruption. While one bandleader has been somewhat blasé about the needs of residents – dismissively noting Carnival has always been a part of Woodbrook – the fact is, the community has rights and needs too.

More thought and more specifics are needed. Spontaneity is a big part of Carnival – but it also requires a great deal of planning.