Carnival vendors get liquor licences in time for pan semis

Queen’s Park Savannah vendors were overjoyed to receive licences on Saturday enabling them to sell alcohol at Sunday’s National Panorama semifinals.

This came after they protested outside the Port of Spain Magistrates Court on Thursday and Friday as initially their licences only allowed them to sell alcohol from February 8 to Ash Wednesday.

The Judiciary issued a release on Saturday saying it would begin accepting applications for special licences for the vending of alcohol at the Queen’s Park Savannah at the Hall of Justice, Knox Street, Port of Spain from 10 am.

Carnival Entrepreneurs Association president David Baptiste said the vendors protested because they wanted to be allowed to sell alcohol for events beginning this weekend. The association has 80 members, many of whom sell at booths at the savannah for Carnival.

“The situation was hard yesterday, but it’s beautiful today. The process ran smoothly, and I got my licence in 20 minutes. We’re getting the licences immediately, and it’s valid from January 28 to February 13.

“We have to pay for the licences at the bank on Monday, as it’s closed today. They (the Judiciary) gave us the courtesy of opening today, and everybody has to trust themselves to go and pay the people’s bills. It’s $10 a day.”

He said in previous years licences would have been received two weeks before an event, but he couldn’t say what had gone wrong this year.

Baptiste said some people would have put in an order for their alcohol already, while others would be purchasing supplies on Saturday.

He said some booths were in good condition, while some still had some small issues.

“We’re ready for tomorrow, 99 per cent. The people who sell food and crafts would have sorted themselves out before, so it was just the people selling alcohol.”

A vendor said she had been on her way to Freeport to get supplies and had to turn back to get her licence.

“Something needs to happen. If this is a process we have to go through every year, the process should happen about three weeks before so people could get themselves in readiness, rather than having all this the day before. It did cause a little inconvenience but I appreciate they came out and assisted us.”

Another vendor said similar problems occur every year, even though Carnival is a national festival.

“Pan is the national instrument. Why do poor people have to struggle to sell food and drinks during this time? They should declare Carnival so people could come out and sell from early and make more money.”

He said while they only came out on certain days, they still had to pay for every day between Sunday and the end of Carnival.

Another vendor said the process for vendors to acquire licences and permits should be made easier, as it occurs yearly and involves a lot of running around.

“If I hadn’t been able to sell alcohol tomorrow, I would have lost a lot, because police would have come and taken everything. If we didn’t have a licence, that would have been unfair to us because we paid $2,600-$3,000 for a booth. I’m looking to see things put in place next year and all the other years to keep the Carnival going. If there are no vendors, there would be no food and no drink, so all these things need to happen for the vendors to make a little money out here.”

She said when vendors get their licences, the drink suppliers would then bring the alcohol to the savannah for them to buy.

In a release on Saturday, the Judiciary said the legal notice granting permission for licences to be issued was only issued on the afternoon of January 26, as the previous notice did not allow the issuing of licences before February 8.

“Legal Notice No 19 of 2024 previously stipulated that the special event for which special licences would be issued would run from February 8 to February 14. In light of this proclamation, special events' licences could only have been issued from February 8.

“The public is asked to note that licensing committees cannot issue special event licenses outside of the stipulated special event period which is determined by legal proclamation.”

It said Legal Notice No 20 of 2024 which replaces Legal Notice No 19 of 2024 was published at 5.30 pm on January 26 by the Government Printery.

“This notice now stipulates that the special event period runs from January 26 to February 14. In light of this replacement legal notice, and in an effort to reduce the economic impact on applicants, the licensing committee for the City of Port of Spain is accepting applications, including those from vendors who would have previously applied for special event licenses covering the old period of February 8 to February 14.

“These applications will be facilitated at the Ground Floor, Hall of Justice, Knox Street, Port of Spain from 10 am on Saturday.”

People almost immediately began lining up at the Hall of Justice on Pembroke Street, Port of Spain, to apply for the licences.