BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Saddle Fiesta came to an end last Saturday (Sept. 12) with a J’Ouvert, Grand Parade and jam session with the Grand Masters Band.
According to the organiser of the festival, Diana Collins, the events went well despite a few disturbances that caused the J’Ouvert to be short lived. She explained that had the J ‘Ouvert gone any further, the streets would have needed repaving because of “how great the event was”.
Three troupes were on parade later in the afternoon, including the Bedroom Style troupe, with ladies dressed in tights and boys’ shorts, the Chat to Mi Back Family in Colours Galore, and also the Clowns as they jammed along the main road.
Collins said that they are hoping to start fund raising activities later in the year for next year’s festival, as this year’s event got off to a late start.
“I’m planning on getting a committee together and will start from this year on raising funds. So, who knows, we might bring in a Vybz Kartel and make it like a little mini carnival,” she said. “I think we can take it to higher level.”
She also said that Saddle Fiesta and Festival de Capisterre, which is held in the St. Pauls/Dieppe Bay area, should merge.
“That would be so powerful. We’re all from Constituency Six and we’re all from the same area; so instead of doing two festivals, we could merge and I think it would be very, very good,” she said.
The Saddle Fiesta is normally held in August while Festival de Capisterre is celebrated in September.
Collins said that, overall, the festival was good as she received positive feedback from the people.
She noted that the opening night was great and they had a good turnout with the Kollision Band, as “they just rocked the city”.
She said that the other scheduled events came off well, including the community cleanup, the Talent Explosion and a session with Masud Sadiki who spoke with the young men in the community.
She said that two events were postponed because of circumstances beyond their control and would take place on Sunday, September 20.
“We’ll set the day for the Domino Tournament early in the day and at noon there will be the Netball Tournament,” she said.
Collins said that she was also surprised to see many persons attending the Dancehall Queen Competition.
“A lot of people stopped me and said they can’t believe I organised this thing in two weeks. The contestants really performed to the best of their abilities and ‘Madness’ really deserved it; she has mad talent and her name speaks for itself,” she said.
The Dancehall Queen Competition was held on Friday, September 11 at the Saddlers Primary School.
Undertaking the task of organising a festival in such a short time span with limited funds is not easy, and Collins relayed that there were times when she wanted to give up.
“There were many times I wanted to give up, in terms of getting things together, because we were on a tight budget. But a lot of my girls and the guys from the programme kept encouraging me and telling me I reached so far and I can’t give up.
“There were also persons in the community who believed in me. They called me often and said it is stressful but that I shouldn’t give up. But from the time I saw the opening and the crowd, it pumped me even more…I haven’t slept in roughly three weeks but it was worth,” Collins said.
