Features
Yvonne Webb
SAN Fernando is set to launch the anticipated “mother of all” celebrations as it commemorates the 34th anniversary of city status in November.
San Fernando was elevated from a municipality to city status on November 18, 1988 under then mayor Dr. Romesh Mootoo.
All the elements of carnival, including pan, mas, calypso, chutney soca – spiced with a little parang, in the spirit of Christmas – will be neatly packaged as a farewell to San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello, who is serving his term third and last. in office.
“You can feel that there’s an energy about to explode (for) Carnival 2023, so we’re going to let the city’s celebration begin right here in Sando,” Regrello told Newsday.
A Let the Festivities Begin event will kick off the festivities on November 5 with a King David Rudder concert at the Southern Academy of Performing Arts (SAPA), Todd Street.
On City Day, November 18, a civic reception and awards ceremony to recognize and honor citizens who have contributed to the development of the city will be held at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Harris Promenade.
Arts and Culture Committee Chairman Naigum Joseph said the City Week has evolved into a month-long event that includes educational, sports and cultural events.
A 10K run from Skinner Park to San Fernando Hill, called Conquer the Hills, takes place on November 13, starting at 6am. Festivities close on November 27 with a car show at Cross Crossing, featuring sounds, vintage cars and monster trucks.
Pan will take center stage on November 12, from 9am to 12pm from Seon’s Bar, Royal Road, to Coffee Street. Top bands from the Pan Trinbago South/Central region including NLCB Fonclaire, Pan Elders, San City and Skiffle will be doing a “slow roll” to allow revelers to pass behind them.
Regrello said there will be police protection so pot fans feel safe to come out and support the bands.
Jozef recalled the enthusiasm of pan lovers when two groups took part in a Republic Day movement.
“Obviously they have enjoyed all the atmospheres of the pan, so for the City Week we are doubling our efforts to give the citizens what they want.
Joseph said the response to the prospect of J’Ouvert on Nov. 19, especially in the absence of any kind of street festival for the past two years, has been overwhelming. He said that a few days after the J’Ouvert celebration was announced, about 12 large groups had already registered.
The celebrations will start at 4am, at the OWTU Paramount Building, on Royal Road, down Coffee Street, to Cipero Street, leading to the Rienzi Kirton Expressway, Todd Street and the grade 2 ground Skinner Park.
“We aim to finish at 9am, engage in an after-party at Skinner Park and be out of there by 10am, when all the music has to shut down. We’re trying not to interrupt the flow of business,” Joseph said.
Reigning Calypso monarch Terri Lyons will hold court at Naparima Bowl on November 20, for her first concert.
Lyons will also be part of a pan, parang, soca and lime chutney scheduled for Nov. 27 at the Creative Arts Center, held in collaboration with the Torrance Mohammed Foundation for Culture and the Arts.
Deron Attz, who represents the foundation, said the charity event and proceeds will be used to provide Christmas hampers to the less fortunate.
The event will begin with breakfast from 5 to 10 a.m., featuring an array of Continental, Creole, East Indian and Christmas dishes. Cost is $100 and tickets are available at the Creative Arts Center.
Later in the evening, a parang segment will be dedicated to the late Kenrick “Kenny J” Joseph, this is the first Christmas without him. A special presentation will also be made to his family.
A big jam in the downtown car park with Terri Lyons and NLCB Fonclaire will end the evening, Attz said.
Tickets for the evening event, which also offers several wild meat dishes, are $120 and Attz urged the public to support it, as it would ensure a family gets hitched for Christmas.
“As much as we love to celebrate the city, it’s important to do philanthropic work to help the less fortunate in the community.”
Regrello, a former MP for San Fernando West, told Newsday he has enjoyed his tenure as mayor and is looking forward to retirement. Having served three consecutive mandates, he is already banned from holding this post after the upcoming constitutional local government elections for this year.
He said he intended to go out with a bang, and in that regard, the Mayor’s Ball on November 26 would be a “faint party right here at the City Auditorium.”
“As cultural chairman”, he added, “I think I have done my part in terms of recognizing different forms of art and the contribution made by artists, colleagues, friends, who have contributed to the cultural landscape.
“I don’t think any other city or municipality has recognized the contributions of performers or recognized them by naming streets in their honor.”
During his tenure, Regrello has named and renamed several streets after cultural activists James Lee Wah, Ras Shorty I, Lennox “Bobby” Mohammed, Ken “Professor” Philmore, Black Stalin, Steve Achaiba and Torrance Mohammed.
