Entertainment

Pandemonium at Botanical Gardens

On Sunday July 24 sweet steel pan music moved from the sands of Brandon’s Beach to the lawns of the National Botanical Gardens without missing a single beat. With this year’s Crop Over Festival entering its final week more Barbadians are attending events that were taken from them for two years due to the Covid -19 pandemic. The renaming and relocating of this island’s mega steel pan concert was a major success. Shedding the name Pan Pun De Sand and adapting a new one Pandemonium made little different to the glorious music rendered by a large cast of panists- most of them secondary school students.

From as early as 3 o’clock and under a warm afternoon sun thousands of Barbadians and visitors gathered under trees with their picnic baskets, fold-up chairs, and blankets. This Crop- Over events can truly be billed as a family event. As you look across the vast area of the National Botanical Gardens it was easy to see clusters of family groups. From granny and granddaddy to young toddlers came to take in the activities.

It was a day for pan and pan we got. The sound of pan music permeated the air and with that a spell was casted. As the music resonated people responded with -‘ movementations’ -dance

Pandemonium was properly planned by the National Culture Foundation (NCF) and credit must be given to them. The idea to have the smaller pan orchestras, groups such as Let we go, The Barbados Community College, Pan Ensemble, Phoenix Steel Orchestra and the National steel Orchestraplaying on trailer trucks and moving through the crowd bought about intimacy of pan and people. On the main stage Barbados and the world were treated to an outstanding performance by the National Youth Orchestra. This orchestra consist of secondary students from a variety of schools. Apart from the manifestation of their musical talents these young Barbadians gave solid evidence that more constructive and productive young people than we are led to believe.

The blend of singing to pan music is fresh and give a new dimension to well-known songs and singers. The huge crowd was treated to performances from Red Plastic Bag, Lil Rick, Allison Hinds, Nikita, Leadpipe, Sadis, Biggie Irie , Peter Ram the Mighty Gabby and many others.

There was no mayhem, no havoc or no chaos as most people would expect at a pandemonium. The Pandemonium in the National Botanical Gardens was a musical uproar which energized the thousands who attended.

Entertainment

Spirit of the Nation this weekend November 16

Entertainment

The Richard Stoute Contest Finals Tomorrow November 9 & 10th

The Richard Stoute Contest 2024, co-produced by the National Cultural Foundation, has reached the final turn of the race. Twenty eager competitors are now preparing for the finals of the Over 21 and Teen Talent categories.

The ten Over 21 finalists are Alicia Alleyne, Zoe Armstrong, Kimberly Allen, Shaquan Smith, Amirah Cordice, Shaneka George, Jaleesa Greaves, Jacqueline Stoute, Lisa Hackett and Kenyah Joseph. The ten Teen Talent finalists are Kadarius Allen, Joshua Osbourne, Kayla Alleyne, Jasmine Walkes, Kyrique Alleyne, ZZ Cumberbatch, Kymani Devonish,Roneisha Alleyne, Joshua Osbourne, Jaliah Thompson, and Kenaz Walker.

Simply by making it to this point in the competition, these competitors join a special class of Barbadian entertainers, all of whom experienced the training and development that comes with taking the Richard Stoute stage. Since its inception in 1976, the Richard Stoute Contest has given birth to several Barbadian musical favourites. One of these is 1983 winner of the competition Edwin Yearwood who was referred to then as “the baby of the competition” by journalist Linda Deane. Singing Wildflower and You Are So Beautiful, a tribute to his mum, he won the seventh teen talent competition, beating AndersonArmstrong and Terencia “TC” Coward who would both later become his contemporaries in the soca arena. In a 1983 article about the contest, Linda Deane referred to the three as “the ones with the better chances of success”. TC would place second in that competition. Just three years later, in 1986, now global soca queen Alison Hinds was also a finalist in the Richard Stoute Contest.

Fast forward to the 90’s and many popular names in the Crop Over arena were singing and winning the transformative competition. In its sixteenth year, a twenty-year-old Adrian”AC” Clarke sang his way to the crown with his rendition of Jackie Opel’s Higher and Higher (his first time singing spouge) and Calypso Traveller. The very next year, his future Coalishun bandmate Rupert “Rupee” Clarke won the crown at just eighteen years of age. His winning songs were Frankie Paul’s “Sarah” and Stevie Wonder’s “Lately”, earning him a standing ovation in the Wildey Gymnasium along with a red Suzuki Swift, driving lessons from Cox Driving School and a trip to a Caribbean island of his choice. The 90’S would also see Barbadian balladist Betty B win the 1998 contest while performing artiste Ishiaka McNeil took the1999 crown.

The start of the new millennium was not without its future household names as Barry Chandler, who sang Vehicle and Wildflower(in tribute to his own mother and single mothers) amidst a standing ovation in George Street Auditorium, sang his way to the crown in the year 2000.

There are several more names throughout the years including popular band Spice & Company and 2024 Courtesy Garage Pic O De Crop contenders Darin Holder, Trinity Clarke and Shontae Alleyne-Clarke. Undoubtedly there isevidence that the environment of the Richard Stoute Contest breeds exceptional talent. Speaking about the competition in the year 2000 Barry Chandler spoke about Founder Richard Stoute saying “He not only taught me how to sing my songs properly, he taught me discipline, and I want to thank him for that”.

In a recently held press conference at The National Cultural Foundation NCF Music Officer assigned to the contest, Aisha Butcher, assured Barbadians the NCF will continue to uphold Richard’s legacy and standards while introducing innovations. These innovations include state-of-the art equipment, additional vocal coaches and a separate competition for the Over 21 age group. “We were happy to see that registration doubled this year [for the Over 21 age group] and the quality is on par with prior competitions”, Butcher stated.

The National Cultural Foundation has also introduced The Richard Stoute Award and The Spouge Award as part of their strengthened approach this year. The Richard Stoute Contest 2024 Finals will take place, tomorrow, Saturday November 9th (Over 21s) and Sunday November 10th (Teens) at The Derrick Smith School

and Vocational Centre

Entertainment

Sagicor Life Inc. Lighting Ceremony This Friday

The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment will host the Sagicor Life Inc. Lighting Ceremony this Friday, November 1, marking the start of the annual community Independence celebrations.

This year’s ceremony will be held under the theme Celebrating Our Communities: Re-engaging, Re-igniting, Re-imagining, and will take place on Friday, November 1, at 5:30 p.m., at National Heroes Square, The City.

Following the Lighting Ceremony, the celebrations will continue with a Bajan Brew at 7:00 p.m., offering an evening filled with spouge, drama, song, and steel pan performances.

The event is free and open to all, providing an opportunity for the community to come together and enjoy the rich cultural heritage of Barbados as we celebrate Independence.

Patrons are encouraged to arrive early and make any necessary transportation arrangements due to expected road closures in the vicinity of Wharf Road and Trafalgar Street. (PR/GIS)