CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – March 14, 2014 – Patron for the 40th Anniversary of Nevis’ Culturama Festival introduced to the Nevisian public by the Honorable Mark A.G. Brantley, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Information.
Thursday March 13, signaled the start of the 140 day count down to the August 1, mega weekend of activities that are being planned to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the staging of Nevis’ Culturama Festival.
During a ceremony which was held at the gardens of the Cotton Ginnery Mall on Thursday afternoon, the Honorable Mark A. G. Brandy, Minister of Tourism and Culture in the Nevis Island Administration unveiled the official calendar of activities for Culturama 40 (C40) which will run from July 24, to August 5, 2014.
The C40 line up features the Ms Culture Queen Pageant, the Ms Culture Swimwear and Mr Kool Contests, the Culturama Horse Race Meet, the Herbert’s Beach Affair, the King of the Jungle Band Clash, the Mr and Ms Talented Youth Pageant and Junior Kaiso Contest, the Freedom Concert, the Emancipation J’ouvert Jump Up and the Parade of Cultural Troupes. The new events on the calendar include a Home Coming Day, an All Inclusive Fete and a C40 Anniversary Gala while Cricket matches, an Athletics Meet, a Boat Ride and a Cultural Presentation have returned to the Culturama calendar after having been absent for quite some time.
Minister Brantley was also the recipient of the Platinum Sponsorship to Culturama for the next two years from the Federation’s Telecommunications giant LIME St. Kitts and Nevis which is valued at ECD250, 000.00. It was revealed at the ceremony that LIME, previously Cable and Wireless and then SKANTEL, has been sponsoring Nevis’ Culturama for well over twenty-five years.
The Culture Minister was also pleased to announce Mr. Tyrone O’Flaherty of New Castle Village, St. James’ Parish Nevis was chosen by the C40 Committee as the Esteemed Patron for this year’s festival. O’Flaherty known in the calypso circles as Bahowlah the Meek and later Sack Cloth and Ashes was educated at the Combermere Primary School, then later at the Charlestown Secondary and the Basseterre High Schools. He also attended the UWI, Cave Hill Campus and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Spanish.
Tyrone had a love for drama and poetry and became a member of the Nevis Dramatic and Cultural Society (NEDACS) in 1973. In 1974 he acted in the first dramatic presentation for Culturama and several other dramatic presentations thereafter. In the field of poetry, he has published several poems in many of the early Culturama booklets, including the first booklet in 1974 using the African inspired nom de plume Kisumi Chikulu.
In the field of music and calypso, Tyrone entered the first ever Culturama Calypso Competition in 1974 and placed first runner up. He also placed first runner up in 1975 and 1977. He was crowned Culturama Calypso King in 1976 and 1978. In 1978 he was credited for his invention of the Cadre beat, the only modern indigenous Nevis beat which accompanied his hit song Culturama Fever. He has also penned many calypsos for local Nevisian calypsonians in the past and this year will be no exception.Tyrone also has been the master of ceremony for many Culturama Ms Culture and Calypso Contests.
In the field of Cultural Administration Tyrone served as the chairman of the Nevis Culturama Committee from 2000 to 2006. He also served as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture during the years 2000 to 2006.
As Patron for Culturama 40, it is expected that Mr. O’Flaherty would be present at all C40 activities and that he would be the Grand Marshall leading the C40 Culturama Cultural Street Parade on Tuesday August 5th.
The Nevis Island Administration joins with the Nevis Culturama Committee and the Festivals Secretariat to congratulate Mr. Tyrone O’Flaherty on being chosen as the patron for the Culturama 40 celebrations
The C40 Committee also used yesterday’s afternoon event to launch their new website: www.culturamanevis.com and also their new You Tube Channel: www.youtube.com/NevisCulturama
For further information:
Go to www.facebook.com/nevisculturamafestival/ www.culturamanevis.com
or
Visit the Festivals Secretariat
Cotton Ginnery Mall
Charlestown
Nevis
(T) (869 469 1992
(F) (869) 469 0728
(Email) nevisfestivalssecretariat@gmail.com
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