S.V.G - C.D.C Lacadasical with Our National Festival

Why are the dates of Vincy Carnival Celebrations 2021 is unknow even today? Why does Carnival lovers at home and in the diaspora have to be playing guessing games in planning for Vincy Mass? Why is the dates for Vincy Mass 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 not known?.

The Carnival season is almost upon us; and the celebratory wind is blowing through the air in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, although the planners of Carnival should have already turned the fan of the season to ensure every Vincentian began to become infected with the epidemic that is Vincy Mass and therefore spread the virus to their none-Vincentian neighbors, the Carnival Development Committee is busy planning the 2020 festival something that should have happened 2016, and hints of it should have been blazing across the world since June 2019.

However one of the things the Carnival Development Committee need to do is to begin running carnival like a business, because that is what it is a business. Carnival is one aspect of St. Vincent and the Grenadines business it is the business of Tourism and the business of cultural entertainment. When this business is properly managed and planned, the nation and its citizens benefit.

The Carnival Development Committee needs to come up with an adjustable 10 years plan, for carnival: a realistic vision of the culture’s future. For too long St. Vincent and the Grenadines have been approaching the business of National Festival with the same vigger as a tortoise crossing a busy highway. It is the same approach the authority takes with Nine Morning; a cultural event that has the potential to bring thousands of Visitors to the Island for Christmas to be a part of the celebrate with us the pre Christmas: morning festival.

In early January, a press release from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Carnival Development Committee Chairman had a press conference to discuss Carnival. To my surprise he revealed that his committee is in the process of planning the nation’s main cultural festival. He speak about setting dates and creating a program.

Upon hearing this I was devastated, to think, That our national planners were so lackadaisical as to leave such an important event for the last minute. When you think of the missed opportunities that comes with such lackadaisical and late planning one wonders. Especially without a date for the upcoming year’s festival.

The ability to capture the momentum of the previous year carnival and get revelors even in a drunken stupor, making a hard to break commitment to the upcoming St. Vincent and the Grenadines Carnival, by booking their flight to return to St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the next year’s carnival.

Think about the missed opportunity of advertising the Next year festival and drumming up interest in the revelors and other tourist to participate in little competition, to select the theme, slogan etc. of the next year’s festival. Creating an interest in the upcoming festival. There is the case of inviting overseas artist to participate in the festival; something that should be done up to a year plus in advance in order to get the best artist.

Another thing, because the 1979 Committee that looked into changing the date of Carnival selected a date that borders with the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the Hurricane season, there is a large possibility of rain during the festival. And in the past there were a case where the festival were plagued by rain. However, it is time that the planners of Carnival began to plan the date of Carnival using the Lunar Calendar. We all know that there is a large possibility for rain at the change of the moon. This is a known fact, and this skill has been used by our farmers for many generations in the past, using the McDonald Calendar, which governed the way most farmers prepare their fields, plant and harvest their crops.

Today you can get the lunar calendar for ten years in advance and therefore we can use this old technology to set the date for our national festival Carnival, and get the best possible days where there is the least possibility of rain. This is important because rain can affect the quality of the festival, it can determine, attendance at paid and free showe, and other activities that can really affect the profitability of the festival.

For example, in 2021 the best possible date for Carnival is: June 27th - July 6th 2021. Although there is a possibility of rain during the festival, the possible rainfall, will not affect the main features of the Carnival festival.

I am recommending to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Carnival Development Committee (CDC), that they set up four sub-committees, with the view of looking into carnival for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The CDC should select and published the dates, for the festivals for each year, All of these committees should be given the task of planning the carnival for the future dates, they should be required to prepare a program, and a detailed plan of the program, and how best they can promote and implement said program.

Each subcommittee has between one and four years to fine tuned and perfect their program, and therefore will be able to put on a show that will be second to none. If we are serious about Carnival in St. Vincent and the Grenadines this will be the approach we will take, in the development of the is very important festival.

I will also suggest that we look into doing the same with nine mornings and looking to development of the little festival all over the island, such as the rain dance ceremony that is hosted in Union Island and the cake dance in Canouan, what I believed to be remnants of the Maroon Festival; and put them in to their perspective in developing these fragmented aspects into real celebratory festival.