Culture

Theatre Arts finalists showdown

Creatives will take to the stage next week

Lovers of theatre arts are in for a treat during this month of celebrations for Independence and Republic Day.

The National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA) Performing Arts competition is into its final stages. And on Tuesday, November 14, starting at 7 p.m., patrons who converge on the Frank Collymore Hall will be regaled by some of the best performing talent the country has to offer.

The National Cultural Foundation’s (NCF) Theatre Arts officer Janelle Mitchell indicated that the fine-tuning and final phase of the various works had been going very well and she expected that patrons would find the showcase of talent to be very exciting and entertaining.

She noted that there would be a number of performances from school entrants at both the primary and secondary level. There will also be performances from adults. Community groups will also be featured. Among the categories to be showcased will be spoken word as well as short plays.

“There are works drawn from several areas; how we are treated as individuals, COVID-19-related stress, issues such as racism, mental health, that internal voice,” she explained, noting that the theme of ‘Voices’ would be evident in many of the works.

With NIFCA celebrating 50 years of excellence, Mitchell highlighted that this year would be a special one for Roland Edwards Primary’s principal George Francis.

He has been among the longest participants in NIFCA, taking part since 1979. Francis, who is nearing his retirement, has both written and directed artistic works over four decades. As usual, his school will be among those taking to the stage.

Mitchell explained that the NCF’s contribution to the arts extended beyond NIFCA and noted that aspiring performers were assisted in many ways through the Foundation’s Business Development Office.

She noted that creatives were helped in marketing their works outside of the island and this involved funding. She added that development programmes were also available to aid persons in drama, dance and theatre, among other areas.

The cultural officer also indicated that NIFCA offered a further development component to prospective creatives.

“You can get training and if your work doesn’t advance in the festival in a particular year, that same piece can be entered the following year,” she said.

Finalists in stage next week are: Milton Lynch Primary, Roland Edwards Primary, Reynold Weekes Primary, Deighton Griffith Secondary, La Shawna Griffith, Alister Alexander, Cyndi Marshall (Cyndi Celeste), Akeem Chandler-Prescod (Stoned with Cupid), Theo Greenidge, Nikolai Worrell and Natalie Thornhill, Sandra Squires, NH Productions.

This year there will be a number of awards up for grabs. The Prime Minister’s Scholarship which is sponsored by the Prime Minister’s Office, is worth $35,000, for tertiary studies at any Caribbean Arts institution. Two scholarships will be on

offer across all categories of NIFCA.

The NIFCA Earl Warner Prize comprising a trophy and a $5,000 scholarship will be awarded to the director of the Most Promising Theatre piece. The Daphne Joseph-Hackett Award of Excellence in the form of $3,000 and a trophy is also up for grabs. Other prizes include The Bruce St. John Award of Excellence in Speech which is $3,000 and a trophy.

Among this year’s new awards will be The Alfred Pragnell Challenge Shield for Acting that takes the form of a scholarship worth $2, 000 applied to the cost of tuition for studies in drama/theatre or culture at an approved institution.

Another initiative this year is the Barbados Community College Scholarships. These are two scholarships offered towards training in the Associate Degree programme in Theatre worth $3, 000 each. (PR)

Culture

BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition Winners Announced

Five winning teams have emerged from the recently held prize-giving ceremony of the inaugural ‘Barbados Postal Service (BPS) 2024 Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’.

The winners hail from the Post Offices of St. Joseph; St. George; Welches Road; St. Philip and the General Post Office in Cheapside.

The overall winner of the competition is the eight-member team of the General Post Office’s Accounts Section, who each received an Island Safari Tour. Second place went to the Welches Road Post Office, third was the St. Philip Post Office, fourth was the St. George Post Office and fifth place went to the St. Joseph Post Office.

Winning Teams (flanked by BPS management), of the inaugural ‘BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’, from the GPO; Welches Road PO; St. Philip PO; St. George PO and the St. Joseph PO.

Postmaster General, Joann Busby, in her address to the winners, stated, “We look forward to many more events like this in the future, celebrating both our history and commitment to excellence.”

Concept Creator of the competition, BPS Marketing Officer Neiai Hall said, “This competition aims to showcase the creativity and cultural expression of our staff, through costume design and performance. The theme of the competition is rooted in our rich heritage and the vibrant spirit of Crop Over.

On left – ‘BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’ 2nd Place Winning Costume, On right – ‘BPS Crop Over Do-FFlicky Costume Competition’ 3rd Place Winning Costume.

“We have encouraged participants to design costumes that not only display their creativity but also incorporate elements that represent the services offered by the BPS”.

The judging criteria consisted of Sustainability; Creativity; Depiction of a BPS Service; Originality; Portrayal; Video Creativity and Originality; Practicality and Inclusivity and Descriptive Write-Up.

Plaques were presented to each of the winning teams and the St. Joseph Post Office also received the Postmaster General’s special award for Outstanding Advertising Video in the competition. (PR/GIS)

Culture

LAST LAP WEEKEND – Ended with Pic-o-de-Crop Finals, Foreday Jump and Kadooment

AN INCIDENT FREE FESTIVAL By David Harris

After two months of activities that included early morning breakfast fetes and late-night parties, the golden anniversary of the Crop Over Festival ended with the Grand Kadooment on Monday.

Over 10.000 revellers in 18 bands danced on the new route which began at the Helipad in Bridgetown and ended in front of Kensington Oval. The street parade was changed its 9 a.m. start to 10 a.m. by the National Cultural Foundation after the Barbados Meteorological Service placed the island under a severe thunderstorm watch.

Eventually, the Blue Box Cart band got the parade moving at 10.07 and the masqueraders began wining and chipping on the streets of Bridgetown.

Only 13 of the 18 bands on parade judged, among the revellers were Barbadian superstar and National Hero, the Right Excellent Robin Rihanna Fenty and former West Indies captain Brian Lara.

Some bands were still heading towards the Mighty Grynner Highway just before at minutes to 9 o’clock. Aura was the last band to reach the highway before the police ended the parade.

The Grand Kadooment ended an action-packed weekend that included the Pic O De Crop Finals at the National Botanical Gardens in Waterford on Friday night, the Foreday Morning Jam which began in Bridgetown in the wee hours of morning and the Grand Kadooment on Monday.

Fans were primed for thrilling contest between the defending monarch IWeb (Ian Webster) and Adrian “AC” Clarke who placed second in last year’s Pic O De Crop competition; but it was AC who captured the crown for the third time after IWeb who appeared to have forgotten the lyrics of the De Village Ram in the second half of the competition.

Clarke performed at number 16 (immediately behind IWeb) and stamped his authority on the competition with an impressive performance of the self-penned Going Fuh Crown, the judges awarded him 133 points, 28 more than Sir Ruel who came second.

Adrian Clarke the 2024 Calypso Monarch

His impressive performance won the first prize of $100,000 or a Nissan E Powe X- Trail valued at $136,000; Clarke told journalists after the competition he had opted to take the vehicle instead of the prize money. Clarke, 52, first won the crown in 2001 and in 2008.

Sir Ruel was the most outstanding performer in the first half with A Single Bullet, he wrote the calypso in memory of his brother Dario Jon-Luc Holder-Branch who was shot to death in February this year. The former Junior Monarch amassed 105 points and won a cash prize of $40,000.

*Sir Ruel, Pic of de Crop, 2nd place winner*

Perennial finalist Chrystal Cummins-Beckles placed third with De Proposal, the multi-talented musician, arranger and composer was awarded 97 points and the $20,000 prize.

Billboard placed fourth for the second consecutive his calypso earned him a cash prize of $15,000; and first timer Tae, the youngest competitor in the final took the fifth position and $10,000 with A Big Cirus.

Calypsonians placing from the sixth to tenth position received $8,000 each, those coming 11 th to 18 th got $6000.

The competition started 51 minutes after the scheduled 8 p.m. due to technical hitches with video presentations, and one contestant (Kid Site) had to start over his song because of problems with the audio. The second half started just after midnight and ended at 2.10 a.m.

In commemoration of the 50 th anniversary of the Crop Festival there were performances by former monarchs the Mighty Destroyer. Red Plastic, the Mighty Gabby and Edwin Yearwood.