BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Nevis Culturama Festival held from July 22 to August 3 is said to be a successful event, according Antonio ‘Abonaty’ Liburd, Manager of the Culturama Festival Secretariat.

A fireworks display was part of activities that signalled the opening of the festival, which Liburd said was a grand spectacle as it was the first time the festival opened with such festivity.

“The people came out in their numbers and it was the first time the junior calypsonians had ever performed in front of such a massive turnout.”

Liburd said the overall view of the festival was good and he felt that it had improved tremendously in terms of the starting time for shows. He however added that although there were a few delays, significant improvement was quite noticeable.

There was also an improvement in the Street Parade in terms of participation.
“There was an improvement in the number of parade troupes where we saw a total of 12 adult troupes participating, which is an increase. Those included old mas and folklore troupes, so the street activities were a major success,” he said.

In terms of the Road March, he said all the bands agreed on the judging criteria that were implemented last year.

Liburd said the Road March is judged on J’Ouvert and Parade Day and bands were told to register the amount of songs they would have been pushing for that event. He also said that the songs must be played at each judging point and not as a chant.

He said that all of the pageants came off well.

The Festival Manager said the Miss Culture Queen Pageant and the Miss Culture Swimsuit were both successful events, and that the latter was a newly-introduced competition that would grow in years to come.

Addressing the calypso competition, Liburd said Quarter Finals and Semi-Finals started late but both shows turned out to be of high standards.

Liburd stressed that the festival would not have been a success without the participation of the private sector.

He said some of those privately-organised events included the Miss Caribbean Culture Pageant, International Night, Horse Race, Drag Race, Herbert’s Beach Bash and the Nevis Theatre Guild.

He noted that the drama presentation was also a success and great addition to Culturama.

“In fact, the Culturama Festival began from being a drama production organised by the Nevis Dramatic and Cultural Society, and it has evolved from that.”

In terms of changes for next year, Liburd said it was too early to state as the committee has not yet held a meeting to assess the festival. He is however of the view that the Band Clash competition should have been closer to the heart of the festival.

“All in all, it was a success; maybe not in terms of finance but the purpose of Culturama is to create an atmosphere where people can come out and enjoy themselves and for others to come and make money where it would be pumped back into the economy,” he said.

The prize giving ceremony for the various shows of Culturama 2010 will be held at the Cultural Village at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday August 14.

The 2010 Culturama Road March winners are expected to hold a jam session following the ceremony.