Heritage Festival pays tribute to 'all ah we'

THE 36th edition of the Tobago Heritage Festival kicks off today at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex from 7pm.

The theme of this year’s event, Tobago’s flagship cultural exposition, is Homage: Paying Tribute to All Ah We and All Ah Who We Be. The festival ends on Emancipation Day – August 1 – with the traditional street parade and concert at Crown Point.

Unlike previous years, the opening gala, titled Legend, Life and Legacy, will not be a theatrical production. Instead, it features the Heritage Calypso Monarch and Miss Tobago Heritage Personality competitions.

Reigning Heritage monarch, Shamika Denoon, will defend her crown against a stellar line-up of seasoned competitors. Denoon’s song, titled Heritage Warriors, was written by Sheldon Reid. The other calypsonians are Giselle Fraser-Washington, Tylia Naomi Murray, Lesley-Ann Ellis, Garve Sandy, Shamika Denoon, Delanie Baynes, Samuel “Ringo” Morris and Caston Cupid. Ellis and Sandy are particularly excited about the event as it’s the first time they would be performing together competitively.

“I am really excited and happy for both of us to be in competition together and to prove that the student is better than the teacher,” Sandy, 27, told Newsday, adding she is grateful for the opportunity.

Sandy and Ellis have performed together at numerous church and cultural events on the island over the past 12 years. But they’ve never auditioned and qualified for the finals of a major calypso competition. Sandy said she auditioned for the heritage monarch competition last year but did not make it to the finals. Ellis, though, competed and placed fourth.

“But it is the first time I am in the finals.”

Following in her mother’s footsteps in the performing arts, Sandy started singing at the age of six. But she also dabbled in dance, pan and drumming.

The Bishop’s High School student alumnus, who later studied sociology and psychology at UWI, St Augustine, said she never favoured drama, “But if I have to do it, then I will do it. I prefer to sing and dance.”

Her talents as a vocalist enabled her to win six Tobago Junior Monarch titles. She was also a finalist in the national Junior Calypso monarch competition for 12 consecutive years.

In 2017, Sandy won the UWI Calypso title and two years later, the Rhand Credit Union Calypso Monarch crown.

“So I am now actually getting my foot in the adult competition because I would have dominated the juniors. This is my second finals in the adult competition as it relates to the Tobago monarch.”

Tonight, Sandy will sing, All Ah We, in tribute to those who pioneered the Tobago Heritage Festival and contributed to its development over the years. She said the calypso, written by Carl Riley, also highlights the island’s various tourist attractions, food and music.

“It is also giving thanks as well to the ancestors for the struggles and the pressures they went through for us to be where we are today. So I am also making a promise to them that I will carry on the legacy and not forget their traditions.”

Ellis, too, is looking forward to performing alongside her daughter.

“For me, it is not about the competition but the love as a mother. I am rooting for my daughter,” she told Newsday.

“We always argue who is the better singer and have that friendly, mother-daughter banter. But on the night, the judges will decide.

“But for me, it is not competitive, it is more a love kind of thing – that we are in a finals together.”

She said, “Being the mother that I am, I want to be there to make sure that her music is on point and that everything is okay with her. We are performing right behind each other. So as I get offstage I have to make sure that everything is all right with her.”

The heritage queen competition has historically been a popular and keenly-anticipated feature of the festival. And this year promises to live up to its reputation.

On July 14, the delegates participated in the talent segment of the competition.

On Monday, the contestants were interviewed on their ability to interact, communicate and essentially represent Tobago’s tourism and cultural thrust towards greater socio-economic diversification. And tonight they will appear in the evening gown competition.

The contestants, in order of appearance are: Nikia Scott (Plymouth); Crystal Lashley (Goodwood); De’jel Quashie (Golden Lane); Tamikah Cruickshank (Sisters In Culture); Melinda Alfred (Delicia’s Dance Agency); Sparkle Taylor Miller and Subrina Henry (Mason Hall).

The opening night gala makes way for Plymouth’s Ole Time Carnival and J’Ouvert celebration on Saturday.

Village co-ordinator Tessa Alfred said about seven bands have already registered for the competition, which will also feature kings, queens, individuals and traditional ole mas characters. Bands will parade along Shelbourne Street and onto Arnos Vale Road.

Alfred, who is also the secretary of the Plymouth/Bethesda Village Council, said this year’s event will also feature a water slide, particularly for the young children.

She urged people to support the village’s signature event.

On Monday, all roads lead to Charlottville for its heritage presentation, Natural Treasures.

Charlotteville Heritage Performers co-ordinator Annette Nicholson-Alfred said Tobagonians and visitors alike can expect a full, enjoyable day of activities.

The event begins with the usual trek from historic Fort Campbleton at 9 am. At the fort, there will be prayers and worship songs. Chief Secretary Farley Augustine will also declare the event open.

Charlotteville’s tamboo bamboo band will then accompany celebrants as they participate in various traditional activities along the walk into the village.

Spectators will visit the cocoa estate yard, coals pit, bakery, saw pit and batty mill. They will also experience the washing of the dead bed.

The walk culminates with a cultural extravaganza in the heart of the village.

“We show you that we don’t only have a trek but we show you our culture,” Nicholson-Alfred said.

After a six-year hiatus, Goodwood returns to the heritage festival with its Yam Festival and Ole Time Village Market Experience.

Co-ordinator Dayne Job said visitors can enjoy a yam-inspired breakfast from as early as 6.30 am at the Goodwood Secondary School.

From 1.30 pm, they can also look forward to a colourful street parade from James Street junction to Goodwood Secondary School.

Job said one of the highlights of the event will be a tour of several of the village’s historical sites, including the St Mary’s Cross, the African Freedom landmark and remnants of old sugar mills. She said the tours will be a fixture on Goodwood’s cultural calendar.

Another highlight will be the little Miss Heritage and Junior Heritage pageant at 2 pm.

“We are asking Tobago to just come out and see what Goodwood has to offer after six years of being away from the festival,” she said.

Pembroke, Les Coteaux and Moriah will host the Salaka Feast, Folktales and Superstitions and Ole Time Wedding presentations on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

The Tobago Harvest Experience at Speyside takes place on July 30. This will be followed by the Sea and Pan Festival on July 31.

Assistant Secretary in the Division of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Megan Morrison said she was pleased with the number of sponsors that have joined forces with the Department of Culture to celebrate this year’s festival.

“We have successfully garnered support to the value of $496,000,” she said via WhatsApp.

Approximately $4 million has been pumped into the event.

She noted the festival began in June with the junior heritage caravan, which saw the involvement of various schools, especially in the east and north of the island.

Morrison said this was followed by Ah We Heritage On the Road, which sought to bring awareness of the festival’s offerings for the season.

“In the midst of these, the culture department accepted recommendations for the improvement of the festival for next year’s offering.”

Jesse Taylor, acting cultural officer II, Division of Culture, said he feels energised.

“I am confident that the division and the planning committee in collaboration with our various stakeholders have put in the work and we have already begun to seeing its manifestations,” he told Newsday.

“We have created the pathway to homage because we are giving thanks for everything that we are blessed with and we remain humbled. We are celebrating, honouring and inspiring.”

Like Morrison, he also welcomed the new sponsors and cultural practitioners who have come on board to support and participate in the festival.

“That, in itself, is an achievement. So by any standard, the festival is already an A plus.”