tidings
Corey Connelly
TOBAGO Carnival Committee Chairman Meisha Trim has admitted that the bad weather affected patronage at several events, including last Thursday’s Tobago Music Arts and Culture concert at the Plymouth Recreation Ground, which featured the winning Nigerian artiste of the Grammys, Burna Boy.
But she said moving the carnival from October to another month to minimize the chance of rain is not a consideration at this time.
“It is a little premature. The good and the bad are going to come and you have to weigh it,” Trim told Newsday on Tuesday.
“We literally have two sides of the coin and we have to draw the line and analyze the pros and cons; see where the strengths of the festival lie and where the weaknesses were, and see if there is a middle ground and if not, if it needs to be moved. But it’s too early to tell.”
She added, “Some of the weather worked for some of us, not all of us. So there are things that may need to be fixed. We may have to look at some indoor type gatherings for unforeseen purposes. There are several things that can happen without literally moving the date. And we definitely need to sit down and discuss this.”
Trim said she is very pleased with the outcome of the island’s inaugural carnival, given the time frame within which the committee had to prepare.
The Division of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transport announced the committee members in a press release in May.
At the time, the division’s line secretary, Tashia Burris, said she hoped the committee would work to ensure the island is strategically positioned to host a vibrant and innovative carnival that will become a staple in island events calendar.
His terms of reference included conceiving the format for the carnival, fostering collaboration and innovation among members of the creative and cultural sectors, and highlighting and celebrating Tobago’s unique heritage, history and ways. The commission officially started its work on May 30.
Trim said, “I’m very pleased with what we were able to achieve, and literally the proof will be in the pudding as we collect the data, do the research and finalize the post-mortem.”
She said that the commission has until the end of the month to submit its report to the THA.
“Our terms of reference spoke to the end of November, so we have another month to put this report together before we dismantle.”
Based on initial reports, Trim said, Tobagonians benefited economically from the carnival.
“From an economic point of view, we won. From a tourism point of view, we traded.”
But she said some areas will be reviewed ahead of next year’s event.
“Basically, I’m glad we all had a happy and safe weekend. That’s one of the things I really want to say thanks to everyone involved, including TTPS for keeping us safe and the customers and guests who came to the island despite and despite whatever was in the space. They were quite curious and contributed to a wonderful and successful weekend.”
