Appeals to business community for support
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - WHILE the Legends Tent continues to work diligently to kickoff the highly-anticipated Calypso Tents on its scheduled time, its leader is appealing to the business community to support Carnival in the form of much needed sponsorship.
SKNVibes recently spoke with Legends Tent Leader Sylvester 'Socrates' Hodge, who explained that due to the difficult economic times, gaining sponsorship has proven a complicated task but he still has hopes that they would be able to garner enough to run a successful tent.
Hodge said that the Legends Tent has always been the one to open first in November but there is the possibility of it being late this year due to the lack of much needed sponsorship.
"Our history is that Legends Tent normally opens the doors in the second week of November. We will be a bit later this year for a variety of reasons. One is that the tents cannot properly survive without proper sponsorship. Over the last couple of years we've been told by the sponsors that things are slow, things are hard and they cannot."
He said that two of his main sponsors have shown reluctance to "come on board, and based on what I have to put in between work, it has been difficult".
He explained that, in a meeting with the current Carnival Chairman, the issue of lack of sponsorship was brought to light and that there would be other meetings to discuss what assistance could be provided.
Socrates said that he was told that the tent must be "good" in order to persuade the people to go out and see the calypsonians; therefore, spiking their interest to flock to the final Calypso Show.
He said it is therefore critical that the tents have a good start.
"We are looking to start the tents around the 15th of November, which means, technically, the second week in the next month". He however noted that they might be one week behind schedule.
When asked about the tent's possibility of closing if the needed sponsorship does not come through, Hodge said that they are still negotiating.
"We are still negotiating and there is hope but I am saying reality wise, at the end of the day, if we don't get that $60 000 to really run a successful Calypso tent...and at the end of the season you are owing people, I don't ever want to be in that position. So I am making all the efforts to make sure that we get that money in terms of sponsorship from our regular sponsors.
"As indicated by the Chairman, they would assist as best they can to make sure that we have the tents. With all that promise of support, the tents will be a reality," Hodge explained.
Hodge said that it is a fact that there is no carnival without calypso, and while there are the queen shows and other events for Sugar Mas, everything starts with the calypso tents which is always the kickoff to carnival, stressing that "it is a vital part of our carnival programme".
He is appealing to the business community to continue supporting Sugar Mas, as it is a part of the Federation's identity.
He said that carnival is not just for the calypsonians and revellers but for the business community as well, because they too are stakeholders and benefit from the fruits of the season.
Hodge said that while the economy might not be what it was a few years ago, the sacrifice made to sponsor carnival would come back in the form of patronage from the people, not just those living in the Federation but those who travel from other parts of the world to be a part of Sugar Mas.
"The whole spinoff starts from having a good, successful, high image impacting carnival, and without the sponsorship it is not going to happen. So you would only be hurting yourself, shooting yourself in the foot if you say you're not going to sponsor carnival.
"So please, you have been faithful in the past, you have helped the calypsonians, help the tents and, by extension, helping carnival to be successful. We appreciate your patronage and we do look forward to it," Hodge appealed to the business community.
