Entertainment

Tents gearing up to face the judges

At the tent judging draw from left: Sharon Carew-White of C.O. Williams House of Soca, Juliana Sealy of Carter’s Shining Stars, Jerry Roberts of Stray Cats, Eleanor Rice of Payce Digital/COB Credit Union All Stars and Jennah Parris of First Citizen/Digicel De Big Show. Missing was a representative of Super Gladiators.

The road to the Courtesy Garage Pic O De Crop Finals intensifies from next Saturday, July 9. That’s when the first of the six calypso tents will face the Pic-O-De-Crop judges for a chance to make it to the finals of the ultimate kaiso battle at Kensington Oval on Friday, July 29.

Seventeen finalists will compete with reigning 2019 Monarch Classic for a chance to walk away $100,000 or a fully-loaded Nissan Leaf thanks to Courtesy Garage.

At the tent judging draw from left: Sharon Carew-White of C.O. Williams House of Soca, Juliana Sealy of Carter’s Shining Stars, Jerry Roberts of Stray Cats, Eleanor Rice of Payce Digital/COB Credit Union All Stars and Jennah Parris of First Citizen/Digicel De Big Show. Missing was a representative of Super Gladiators.

The National Cultural Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer Carol Roberts-Reifer thanked Courtesy Garage for coming on board again this year.

“We sincerely thank our corporate partner Courtesy Garage for again coming on board and investing in the Festival and by extension the kaiso art-form. It’s always a pleasure to work with the team at Courtesy. We encourage Barbadians to come out and support the tents and then take that same energy to Kensington Oval on July 29 for the Pic-O-De-Crop Finals” Roberts-Reifer said.

The first tent to face the judges will be Super Gladiators on Saturday, July 9 at the Barbados Museum, The Garrison, St Michael. They will be followed by Payce Digital/COB Credit Union All Stars on Sunday, July 10.

Next up is C.O. Williams House of Soca who will face the judges on Wednesday, July 13 while the following night, Thursday, July 14, will be Stray Cats’ turn. First Citizen/Digicel De Big Show will be judged on Friday, July 15.

On Sunday, July 17, Carter’s Shining Stars will be the last tent to judge. At that time, the names of the 17 Finalists, to face Classic, will be announced after the judges deliberate.

When the Pic O De Crop registration closed on Monday, June 6, there were 90-plus calypsonians who had registered.

Music Officer Kevin Moore stated that the NCF is looking forward to staging another exciting Finals.

“The National Cultural Foundation is elated to be able to produce the Pic-O-De-Crop Competition after a two-year hiatus, due to the global pandemic. This year’s competition promises to be yet another exciting one, with many artistes indicating their intention to compete through their various tents. We expect the same quality music that we have grown accustom to on Finals night,” he said.

Patrons desirous of taking in some tent action and any other event for this Crop Over Festival can log on to:

NCF Barbados on Facebook and Instagram
Lovecropvoer.bb on Instagram
Barbados Crop Over Festival on Facebook and;
www.ncf.bb

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)

Entertainment

A SEA OF YELLOW AT RISE & RUM BREAKFAST PARTY

Patrons enjoyed a day filled with food, fun, and sun at Rise and Rum, the penultimate event of this year’s Barbados Food and Rum Festival.

Food lovers had an abundance of delicious dishes to savour on Saturday—from roasted breadfruit and seafood boils to various fish delicacies and scrumptious desserts, offering a wide array of options to enjoy.
Of course, there was no shortage of entertain, and local bands Square One and Krosfyah once again teamed up to keep the crowds grooving as they enjoyed their savour foodie treats in fine style.

Entertainment

Let us celebrate Jackie Opel

Tuesday 27^th August was a significant day in the history of local music. It marked the birthday of Dalton Bishop better known as Jackie Opel. The musical icon would have turned 84. Jackie Opel was an outstanding singer, composer, and creator of the Spouge music genre who was born on August 27, 1938, in the inner-city area of Chapman Lane.

*Shantal Munroe Knight, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office*

In 1962 Jackie migrated to Jamaica where he lived for six years. He was influential in the formative careers of some of Jamaica’s iconic entertainers. From Bob Marley to Jimmy Cliff, Ken Hopeton, Alton Ellis, and the early days of the band The Wailers.

On his return to Barbados Jackie Opel was gearing up to take his career and his newly created spouge music to a higher level. Plans were afoot to produce a concert, but fate was not kind, and he died in a car accident on Bay Street on March 9, 1970.

Special Free Concert Yesterday

The National Cultural Foundation (NCF) hosted a special concert, last night, in Freedom Park to honour Jackie Opel.

A cast of some of the island’s top singers graced the stage to perform a wide range of spouge songs. The modest audience can count themselves lucky to have attended an event that will be a benchmark in local music history.

Artists thrilled those in attendance

Performers included the following, Wendy Alleyne, Shadia Marshall, Keisha Christian, Mickey Dee, Mike Grosvenor, Colin Spencer, Desmond Weekes, Jamal Slocombe, Simon Pipe, D J Simmons, Bit Bit, Ishiaka, Romario Greaves, Alix Cage, Adrian Clarke and Edwin Yearwood.

Senator the Hon. Shantal Munro-Knight, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office delivered the opening remarks, and Ambassador to CARICOM David Comissiong delivered the feature address. It was generally felt by those in attendance that a Jackie Opel Birthday Concert should be held annually. (Article and photos by Christopher Williams)