Black San Bang-a-Lang: Sandy Point’s new community festival to be held next April!

SANDY POINT, St. Kitts and Nevis (November 8, 2010): It is now official! SPIRIT has unveiled the brand for the new and much-talked-about Sandy Point Community Festival – Black San Bang-a-Lang!!

This announcement was made before a massive crowd of street revellers last Friday (November 5) in one of the biggest events that Guy Fawkes has ever seen: ‘Chambalay’. The event began about 8:00 that evening and instantly shook the town of Sandy Point into a vibrant motion of music, dancing and laughter.

Chants of ‘Chambalay, police ah come’ and the sound of the big drum and the iron band drew hundreds of onlookers, many of whom joined the street jam. Even some drivers abandoned their vehicles to be part of the merrymaking. The event brought back memories of yesteryears when such chambalay street jams were the norm, yet, it added a modern pulse that both young and old could enjoy. Moko-jumbies joined the revellers in lighting up the streets with their own chambalays, leading over five hundred revellers through the town of Sandy Point.  

The streets were speckled with hundreds of torches and evoked a palpable sense of community togetherness that not even the rain could put out.

After a few speeches, and a few showers of rain, SPIRIT staged two events back to back, keeping a mammoth crowd on Mount Idle, enjoying the community togetherness and awaiting the night’s big surprise.

Young aspiring artistes performed their original tracks as they competed in the first phase of the SPIRIT’s 'King of the Mic' competition. The response from the audience was overwhelming as persons begged for encore performances.
SPIRIT’s Black Auction appeared to be a crowd favorite!! It was a unique fundraiser for the group as bids as high as $150 were made for services including tutoring, barbering, pampering and even a romantic date!!

The host of the event was the energetic daughter of Sandy Point, Judy Dupont, the PRO of SPIRIT who will also be entering in this year’s National Queen Pageant. She kept the crowd begging for more, in a way that only she could and at about 10:30, it was time for the long-anticipated unveiling of the festival’s brand.

Head of The Festival task Force, Seanel Riley led the unveiling ceremony. Following a brief speech about the reasons behind SPIRIT’s initiative of returning the festival, the curtains were removed to an eruption of applause and cheers. 

It was now official; Sandy Point’s new festival was announced ‘Black San Bang-a-Lang!!’

‘’We had fun tonight!! When I saw old and young mixed together, people from Cleverly Hill in the East and Crab Hill in the West, dancing and chanting together, it was only clear that the people of Sandy Point can come together in events like these.

‘’It is this same love and community togetherness that we will carry over into Black San Bang-a-Lang, and revive our heritage and culture using peaceful community events like these,’’ Riley said.

He thanked all former community groups for their hard work in the past and acknowledged the support of the National Carnival Chairman, who endorsed the new festival. Riley also vowed that a programme lineup will be issued shortly and that the upcoming months will see a number of exciting pre-activities as the group tries to build momentum heading into next April’s Black San Bang-a-Lang!!