Gypsy: Carnival is more than just wine and jam

National Carnival Commission (NCC) chairman Winston “Gypsy” Peters says Carnival is more than just wine and jam, and people in TT need to recognise that.

He spoke at the First Citizens Senior Kings and Queens Awards Ceremony 2022 at the NCC VIP Lounge, Carnival City, Grand Stand, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain. The winners and finalists in the Kings and Queens competition as well as the People’s Choice winner were there to collect their prizes.

Carnival Bands Association (TTCBA) president Rosalind Gabriel; group deputy CEO, operations and administration, First Citizens, Prof Sterling Frost; and NCC CEO Colin Lucas were also at the ceremony.

Carnival King Joseph Lewis and Carnival Queen Shynel Brizan were also present to collect their prizes along with other finalists.

Peters said too few people recognise Carnival as TT’s greatest gift and export to the world.

“A lot of us take it for granted and don’t know the significance of Carnival to TT. A lot of people believe that Carnival to TT is just about wine and jam and jump up.

“Let me take this opportunity to say to them today that Carnival to TT is what we do as wine and jump up, but the returns of Carnival to TT is more significant than oil and gas, which is finite.

“But Carnival is ours. It is our culture. It is what we know. It is who we are. And if Carnival was not such a significant event, it would not have been as important as it is to other countries in the world as it is to us.

“As a matter of fact, in a lot of ways, to them it is more important. The social and economic benefit of Carnival, the social part of Carnival, cannot even be monetised. That is how important it is.”

He said he wanted the people of TT to understand that Carnival was not taking away from the country's buying beds for the hospitals or having more water pumps.

“But in fact it is contributing to us doing exactly that.”

Peters said the money spent on Carnival goes nowhere but back into the treasury.

“It helps to employ people from all over TT and the money that comes in from our laglee money, as I said, is what is used to buy the beds and make the pumps to put water and put food on other people’s table throughout the year.

“That is the economic benefit of it. So I want us to stop seeing Carnival as just a wine and jam and break down kind of thing.”

Asked later if he could quantify the money gained from TT’s A Taste of Cranival, Peters said he could not and that the Taste of Carnival was to ensure that TT maintained its place on the Carnival calendar.

There was much public discussion about the Taste of Carnival budget, when Peters had said it would be approximately $20-$30 million, but the Government then approved a budget of $15 million.

Peters said that kind of thinking prevented the country from expanding more on Carnival, because one could not bad-talk a product and expect it to be successful.

Peters thanked First Citizens and the mas community, including the TTCBA, for taking the historic step.

He congratulated the TTCBA and Gabriel for a “masterful return to form” and also praised all of the competitions' participants.

“Your costumes were impressive and your presentations renewed the Carnival spirit and an appetite for creativity in the hearts of millions here and around the globe,” he said.

Peters said even though this year's was only a taste of Carnival, Carnival was well on its way back.

Quoting Local Government Minister and former AG Faris Al-Rawi, Peters repeated, once its covid cases continued to decrease, the country could look forward to the “Mother, grandmother and great-grandmother of all Carnivals.”

He said the commission had already started reviewing the post-mortem of A Taste of Carnival and re-engaging stakeholders, “as we knuckle down for next year.”

Gabriel delivered the vote of thanks.