While all eyes are on Burna Boy’s performance at the Tobago Music, Arts and Culture festival next month, the event is much more than a night with the self-proclaimed African giant.
In fact, his performance is symbolic of the aims of the festival, which was created as a platform to showcase the work of Tobago’s entrepreneurs.
“With this festival, we’re bringing the global market to them, so Burna Boy is not just about a concert, it’s a symbol of that global megastar that’s about who we are. It was intentional and purposeful to go with a Nigerian artist,” explained Arlene Lyons.
“If people are to be their best selves, then they should be proud of who they are, so part of it, going back to the roots and connecting the festival to our background and connecting with the Nigerian community, that part is important. also, because this is where the determination and inspiration will come for those creative and entrepreneurial talents to really bear fruit,” she said.
TOMAC is the brainchild of Arlene, owner of US-based cosmetology school Esani, Paul Mitchell School, and her sister Corelli, a former banker, business woman and passionate lover of culture.
Born and raised in Scarborough, Tobago, they conceived the idea of the festival over the past two years when pandemic lockdowns brought everyone’s life to a temporary halt.
It was then that the sisters began to think about inheritance and discovered the creative talent within their family. Carving out a space for their nieces and nephews, they encountered a treasure trove of talent on the island.
TOMAC will be dedicated to Tobago-born calypsonian Lord Nelson
They formed the Pride of Tobago Foundation and Catch the Wave Solutions Inc, two organizations aimed at helping entrepreneurs.
The foundation provided much-needed relief to people during the pandemic while Catch the Wave provided essential business support.
With everything limited to the internet at the time, they used social media to find and promote talent.
Their first venture was the production of a live show, Live with Jay B, which ran for a year. The show focused on highlighting the talent, creativity and entrepreneurship of Tobagonians.
“We hit the ground running and reached out to people, from the youngest farmer in Tobago, to guys who blow mushroom shells to entertain and perform at funerals and weddings, to those who make jewelry from recycled material, the types were phenomenal of talents that we. discovered”, said Corelli.
She said the wealth of talent they discovered, however, was set against a mindset of dependency and as such, motivated them to create opportunities at home and abroad for hundreds of people over the past two years.
Determined to lift Tobagonians out of that dependency syndrome and capitalize on the entrepreneurial spirit they possess, the sisters developed and designed programs and platforms to do just that.
“Entrepreneurship is what Tobago is made of and what we need to bring to the world market. Seeing over the years that Tobago had slowly turned from the place where people say Tobagonians are the hardest working, the most productive, the best, the best to that state of dependency where people are tired of their talents… we started the push for to say no, stand tall as an entrepreneur, stand as someone with a unique talent,” Corelli said.
“With all the talent we got, many of which we were able to showcase, we decided to build an entrepreneurial movement in Tobago, we want to create and move from where it was a THA and state dependency economy to an entrepreneurial economy. economy.”
Arlene with Anthony Claxton of Krew Kutz on the right and young Tobagonian barber Javanne Williams.
They created a network of entrepreneurs through golf called Golf and More Experience (GAME) to create a meeting space and motivational environment.
TOMAC is another step in the line that now brings to the market all the talent that they discovered, developed and armed with the relevant skills.
Beyond providing a business outlet, TOMAC, which will be an annual festival, is also about educating Tobagonian youth about their history and honoring their ancestors.
“It will include the importance of honoring and respecting our ancestors. The festival will include a look back at our ancestry, our elders, looking at our customs and traditions. Why do we have a dirty oven, what’s with the whole question of how we cook, the dishes we use?” Corelli asked.
The festival opens on October 23 with the opening of the festival village and an arts and crafts exhibition. 24th will see the symbolic mixing of the salt and soil of Tobago and Nigeria, as this is a place where many Tobagonians can trace their roots. On the same day the TOMAC Cottage festival in Plymouth will open and there will be a signature concert in honor of Lord Nelson who was born in Plymouth.
On October 25, there will be a youth empowerment workshop and cultural presentations with flag dancing, tambourine band and spoken word.
26th focuses on wellness and a pop-up museum featuring art and sculpture by Tobagonian artists, as well as artifacts. The Burna Boy concert will be held on the 27thth.
The festival will also allow people the ability to do DNA testing and be environmentally conscious with the use of recycling bins and water refill stations as plastic bottles will not be allowed.
Asked about the timing of the festival, the sisters said they had no idea the Carnival would take place when they planned the event. Tobago Carnival officially runs from October 28 to 30.
“This is not a carnival event, this is a whole movement to bring people on board and this is an opportunity to make people independent, to take the shackles off us where we’ve been held in that dependency, welfare mindset, ” said Corelli. .
Corelli Lyons
To meet demand for the privately funded festival, especially the Burna Boy show, charter flights are being negotiated, the sisters revealed.
Growing up as two of six siblings, Corelli and Arlene’s mission to help others was built into their DNA.
Their parents, who were both elementary school educators, spent much of their lives helping others, and as such, they are now committed to continuing the examples their parents set to create a legacy to others.
