tidings
Melissa Doughty
The semi-finals of the Pan Trinbago Convention Junior Panorama met the expectations of the organizations and were of a high standard, president Beverley Ramsey-Moore said on Monday.
The semi-finals were held on Saturday from 16:00 in Victoria Square, Port of Spain, and 30 groups played to win a place in the final.
Ramsey-Moore said, “There has been a significant improvement in the quality of the music and production. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all the participants for the fantastic work they have done.”
Traditionally, 14 groups will go through to the finals, but there will be 16 groups competing for the top spot on January 14 at the Grand Stand, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain from 7pm. Bands will draw for playing positions in the VIP Lounge, Queen’s Park Savannah on January 10.
Defending champion Uptown Fascinators are among the finalists along with former champion TT Defense Force.
Other groups making it to the finals include Fascinators Pan Symphony, Road Block Steel Orchestra, Southern Stars and Alpha Pan Pioneers. The top 16 groups were selected with the Uptown Fascinators scoring a total of 277 points to take the top spot.
When asked about the two additional groups, Ramsey-Moore said: “Because the executive is very happy with what we would have seen and because it is our diamond jubilee, we have agreed to add two more groups to the final as well as we have done for medium and large groups.”
She added that the organization was looking forward to the excitement ahead.
It was also announced at Saturday’s event that each pan player will receive a $500 stipend. It was reported that Pan Trinbago was in discussion with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts to have the remittances returned.
A press release on Saturday said that the cabinet approved special financial measures to help pan and Panorama movement for this year and those measures were grant payments for unsponsored groups and remittances.
He added that the measures were taken in light of the role groups play in the social and cultural fabric of TT, as well as the financial difficulties faced by organizations and individuals during the Covid19 pandemic.
