Sanfest attracts scores of people in San Fernando

The NGC San Fernando Arts Festival (Sanfest) drew a massive crowd on Tuesday at the Naparima Bowl in San Fernando as students showcased their talents in visual, literary, and performing arts.

The primary school finals started on Tuesday with dramatised speeches and short plays as well as public, verse, and coral speaking. Students also showcased their talents in monologue and storytelling.

Apart from drama, the youngsters also showed their musical talents by singing classical, religious, national/patriotic and West Indian songs. They also played songs on the steelpan.

This year’s theme is “SANFEST —Show Your Talent.”

The late theatre icon James Lee Wah founded the San Fernando Arts Council (SFAC) in 1969, and the next year saw the birth of Sanfest, as it is popularly known.

The festival has made a tremendous impact on arts and culture nationally.

Last week, the finalists were announced, and on October 24, Sanfest festival director Joey Harrynanan congratulated all participants.

Harrynanan, also SFAC vice-chairman, added that the judges appreciated the high quality of talent that “certainly made their tasks to select the best extremely challenging.”

He said despite limited resources, Sanfest with the SFAC remained one of the major platforms for youth in the performing arts.

The secondary school finals are set for Wednesday, and the Young Star Talent competition finals are on Thursday.