J’Ouvert, mas and parang for San Fernando city celebrations

SAN Fernando is set to kick-start the anticipated "mother-of-all-Carnival" celebrations as it commemorates its 34th anniversary of achieving city status in November.

San Fernando was elevated from borough to city status on November 18, 1988 under then mayor Dr Romesh Mootoo.

All the elements of Carnival, including pan, mas, calypso, chutney soca – spiced up with some parang, in the spirit of Christmas – will be neatly packaged as a farewell to San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello, who is serving his third and last term in office.

“You are sensing there is an energy ready to burst (for) Carnival 2023, so we are going to let the city celebration begin that right here in Sando,” Regrello told Newsday.

An event with the theme, Let the Celebrations Begin, will open the festivities on November 5 with a concert by "King David Rudder" at the Southern Academy of the Performing Arts (SAPA), Todd Street.

On City Day, November 18, a civic reception and awards ceremony to recognise and honour citizens who have contributed to the development of the city will be held at the St Paul’s Anglican Church, Harris Promenade.

Chairman of the Arts and Culture Committee Naigum Joseph said City Week has transitioned into a month-long event comprising educational, sporting and cultural events.

A 10K run from Skinner Park to San Fernando Hill, dubbed Conquer the Hills, takes place on November 13, starting at 6 am. The celebrations close off on November 27 with a car show at Cross Crossing, featuring sound-off, vintage cars and monster trucks on display.

Pan will take centre stage on November 12, from 9 am-12 pm from Seon’s Bar, Royal Road, down to Coffee Street. Top bands from Pan Trinbago South/Central region, including NLCB Fonclaire, Pan Elders, San City and Skiffle will do a "slow pan roll" to allow revellers to chip behind them.

Regrello said there would be police protection so pan lovers can feel safe to come out and support the bands.

Joseph recalled the excitement of pan lovers when two bands took part in a pan-on-the-move for Republic Day.

“Obviously they enjoyed the whole pan vibes, so for City Week we are doubling the efforts to give the citizens what they want.”

Joseph said the response to the prospect of J’Ouvert on November 19, especially in the absence of any kind of street festival for the past two years, has been overwhelming. He said days after the J’Ouvert celebration was announced, some 12 big bands had already registered.

Celebrations will begin at 4 am, at OWTU Paramount building, onto Royal Road, down Coffee Street, onto Cipero Street, leading to Rienzi Kirton Highway, Todd Street, and them onto Skinner Park second-class ground.

“We intend to finish at 9 am, engage in an after-party at Skinner Park and be out of there by 10 am, when all music has to be shut off. We are trying not to interrupt the business flow,” Joseph said.

Reigning Calypso Monarch Terri Lyons will hold court at Naparima Bowl on November 20, for her first-ever concert.

Lyons will also be a part of a pan, parang, soca and chutney lime slated for November 27 at the Creative Arts Centre, being held in collaboration with the Torrance Mohammed Culture and Arts Foundation.

Deron Attz, representing the foundation, said this charity event and proceeds would be used to provide Christmas hampers to the less fortunate.

The event will begin with breakfast between 5 am-10 am, with an array of continental, creole, East Indian and Christmas dishes. The price is $100 and tickets are available at the Creative Arts Centre.

Later in the evening, a parang segment will be dedicated to the late Kenrick “Kenny J” Joseph, this being the first Christmas without him. A special presentation will also be made to his family.

A big jam in the centre’s car park with Terri Lyons and NLCB Fonclaire will top off the evening, Attz said.

Tickets for the evening event, which also offers some wild meat dishes, cost $120, and Attz appealed to the public to support it, as it would ensure a family gets a hamper for Christmas.

“As much as we enjoy celebrating the city, it is important to do the philanthropic work to assist persons less fortunate in the community.”

Regrello, a former MP for San Fernando West, told Newsday he has enjoyed his stint as mayor and is looking forward to his retirement. Having served three consecutive terms, he is now statute-barred from holding the position after the next local government elections, constitutionally due this year.

He said he intended to go out with a bang and in that respect, the Mayor’s Ball on November 26, would be a “ring-down party right here at City Auditorium."

“As a cultural mayor," he added, "I think I have done my part in terms of recognising the various art forms and contribution made by artistes, colleagues, friends, who have contributed to the cultural landscape.

“I don’t think any other city or boroughs have recognised the contribution of the performers or recognised them by naming streets in their honour.”

During his tenure, Regrello has named and re-named several streets after cultural activists James Lee Wah, Ras Shorty I, Lennox “Bobby” Mohammed, Ken “Professor” Philmore, Black Stalin, Steve Achaiba and Torrance Mohammed.