(Basseterre, St. Kitts, SOS Club, December 8th, 2009) - The history, development and future of the St. Kitts & Nevis National Carnival, will come under public scrutiny next week, with the hosting of a panel discussion, being organized by the Shaping Our Society (SOS) Club of St. Kitts and Nevis, a recently re-activated community organization.
According to Mr. Jabez Harris, the Public Relations Officer of the SOS, the panel discussion will be held on Tuesday, December 15th 2009, at the Methodist Church Hall (Old Boys School), in Basseterre, starting at 7:30, in the evening. The entire event will be broadcast live on radio and television by ZIZ.
The topic for the discussion is “Carnival Unmasked: The Past, Present and Questionable Future”. The intention of the discussion is to perform a comprehensive examination of carnival by the invited panelists, who will look at the origins and history of the festival, ways in which carnival might be affecting the celebration of Christmas, how the Music Festival has influenced the Carnival and other critical areas.
Some of these additional areas will include funding and marketing for carnival, the parade of troupes and bands, J’ouvert, calypso competitions and public participation.
The panel is comprised of; Mr. Creighton Pencheon, Director of Culture; Mr. Clement “Monarch” Ogarro, Calypsonian and member of the Carnival Committee; Mr. Stanley Franks, Costume Designer and Bishop Ron Collins, Chairman of the St. Kitts Evangelical Association.
Mr. Laurent Fough of the SOS Club will perform the duties of chairperson of the discussion.
The format of the discussion will also allow for members of the public in attendance, to make their own contributions from the floor. A wide cross section of the public is expected to attend, including costume designers, band leaders, folklore troupe organizers, steel band members, string band members, calypsonians, private sector and government officials as well as other members of the public who have a keen interest in the future of carnival.
With just a few weeks remaining before the heightened carnival activities, the panel discussion is anticipated to generate much debate about how the national festival could be improved upon and generate greater returns and public satisfaction.
The SOS Club, in collaboration with ZIZ Radio & Television and The Cable, have organized the discussion in an attempt to encourage debate on the celebration of carnival, with the hope that the dialogue would be meaningful to the future planning of the festival.
The SOS Club, which was formed on May 10, 1989, was recently re-activated after a five -year dormancy. The club is generally geared towards providing support to the youth, while at the same time helping to advance social, cultural and other causes within the community.
