NCC donates to Prison
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WINNERS and runners-up for the various events held during the 2016/2017 National Carnival have been awarded their prizes.
At a ceremony held on Friday (Jan. 20) evening on Bank Street, officials - including the Minister of Culture, Hon. Shawn Richards - presented cheques to the winners of the onstage activities, street activities and also to various educational institutions that participated.
This has been one of the years in which individual winners received their prize monies in a prompt manner. Last year, there was controversy surrounding the late presentation.
According to Chairman of the National Carnival Committee (NCC), Noah Mills, because of the Minister Richards’ prudence and transparency, it has allowed the Committee to hold the prize giving ceremony some two and a half weeks after the festivities were completed.
The 2016/2017 prize money allocations were increased from $547,000 to approximately $565,000, due largely to a number of new events which were brought on stream.
Director of Culture Troy Mills explained that there are words being thrown around that the culture is dying.
While he admitted that, “some aspect of the culture is not as pronounced as we would like it to be” he suggested that the culture of the Federation is alive and well and that is was a highlight during the Carnival period.
“Some of us have the wrong ideas and perceptions and we would need to re-educate persons about that...and part of that is by keeping the folklore alive,” Mills said.
During his presentation at the ceremony, Minister Richards handed over a cheque to the tune of $1,500 to the Her Majesty’s Prison’s music department, the members of which participated in a number of activities, and also lent their services to the National Carnival Committee when needed.
“I say a special thank you on behalf of the Carnival Committee and the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, for the assistance that you continue to render over the years. Indeed we do appreciate it,” Richards said.
Among those who were presented with prize monies were 2016/2017 National Carnival Queen Katherina Davis, Sugar Mas 45 Calypso Monarch King Craig, the Power Soca King L.A.X and K.T. and the Caribbean Carnival Queen Khyla Brown.
Prize monies ranged from $1,000 to $15,000.
