Culture

Loads of talent at NIFCA Music Finals

The NIFCA Music Finals, the first of the 2023 NIFCA Performing Arts Finals, started with a bang offering patrons a night of amazing performances and an exciting showcase of talent.

The 22 finalists competed in two categories – junior and adult non-professional – faced the judges in a bid to win a gold, silver, or bronze award, or one of the special awards, doing so in spectacular fashion from start to finish.

The event was staged last Sunday, November 12 before a packed audience at Frank Collymore Hall, The City.

The soloists, choirs, and musicians all ably demonstrated the tradition of excellence that NIFCA, which is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year, is known for, with many performing songs from Barbadians artistes, some with new arrangements. There were also a few original compositions.

Like previous years, the singers dominated but the musicians and instrumentalists such as the Christ Church Foundation School’s Steel Orchestra, the newly formed St. Cyprian’s Boys Band, Haynesville Youth Club, Christ The King Boomwhackers who make music by beating cylindrical tubes against their legs, and saxophonists Jonathan Jordan and Nikhyl Burnett, playing Saving All My Love For You and In Christ Alone, respectively, held their own.

Christ Church Foundation School Steel Orchestra gave exuberant performances of Tribute to De Doctor (Cultural Ambassador, The Most Honourable Anthony The Mighty Gabby Carter’s classics Well Done and Emmerton TNT Soca Medley (Lord Kitchener’s Pan In A Minor, Farmer Nappy’s Hookin Meh and Olatunji’s Engine Room) and the young members of Haynesville Youth Club’s hands beat a fast and energetic pace on their djembe drums in Riddum and Tempo 1, an ode to their African ancestry. In Riddum and Tempo 2, a smaller unit playing traditional drums, paid homage to Barbadian tuk music.

Also in that genre, St. Cyprian’s Boys Band thrilled with their spouge and tuk-fused rendition of Cultural Ambassador, The Most Honourable Stedson Red Plastic Bag Wiltshire’s Something’s Happening and an original song 246, and Christ The King Boomwhackers were applauded for their performance of I’m Alive, also by the noted entertainer.

The choirs were a delight to the ear as they brought classics, and original songs to the stage.

St Luke’s Academy Choir sang an original song titled Climb Every Mountain, St Bartholomew Primary School Choir’s selection was Buggy Nakente’s Just A Man, Coleridge & Parry School Choir performed Sherry Ann Maughan’s Winner and Rihanna’s Lift Me Up in the first and second halves respectively.

The Cyptones’ sang De Conkie Song, an adaptation of 2022 Tune of the Crop winner Bruce Lee Almightee’s Mauby, MLVP Elite Vox’s performed Nina Simone’s Four Women and John King’s classic How Many More, while Kirk Franklin Love Theory was Ellerslie School Choir choice.

Soloists performing original songs were Arlington Daniel with Los Barbados and Athalia Crump who shared Like the Eagle and Island Life, two of the 100 songs she’s composed, with the NIFCA audience.

Also competing in the Music Finalists were winners and high placing individuals from other competitions.

While Scotiabank Junior Soca Monarch Shontae Alleyne-Clarke who, in addition to singing her winning 2023 tune Bajan Ting to close the show, showed her versatility in her rendition of the late Whitney Houston’s Greatest Love of All in the first half, both winners of the 2023 Richard Stoute Teen Talent and Over-21 contests, Skyy Dowridge and Kibibi Greenidge respectively, were among the soloists.

Dowridge sang Charmaine Heyliger Love is The Key and Greenidge, who also won the Spirit of the Nation Talent Show had two entries – Nina Simone’s Feeling Good and The Clock, popularized in Barbados by the late Carlyn Leacock.

Jaleesa Greaves, a former Teen Talent Winner sang Rihanna’s Stay and Hallelujah. Jedidah Graham, who placed second in this Spirit of the Nation Talent Show sang For Every Mountain, and third placed Relissa Mitcham in the same contest, a 2023 Scotiabank Junior Monarch semifinalist and student of Deighton Griffith Secondary School, sang calypsonian Chrystal Cummins-Beckles’ Fly On De Wall.

The other soloists were nine-year-old Rachel Carter who performed CeCe Winans’ Worthy of It All, Dacia Moore, who also attends Deighton Griffith Secondary, sang the folk classic Emmerton, and the late Dacosta Allamby’s granddaughter ZZ Cumberbatch sang The Merrymen’s Beautiful Barbados and Marvin Sapp’s Thank You For It All.

Cassandra Crawford was the MC. (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.