"Carnival has nothing to do with lent, Carnival is a business." Take note of that statement because it could change the character of Tobago and make it a carnival market of choice in the not to distant future. Those words came from a calypsonian who understands the business of carnival but it sounds even better knowing that the person making the statement can actually get it done... a government minister, a calypsonian, a culture ambassador, none other than the honorable Winston Peters aka calypsonian Gypsy.
It is about time this thinking came to the table for discussion... Yes do it; unhitch carnival from the yolk of the church. Move Carnival away from this religious impediment that has brought about short and long carnival seasons.
OK, let's not get ahead of ourselves... Minister Gypsy (Arts and Multiculturalism) was thinking about giving Tobago a separate date to host their carnival celebrations... Brilliant!
Now why is this such a great idea? Well Tobago has been and will always be a great tourist destination. Just think about the carnival loving population from the larger of the two islands heading across for the shows and the actual celebrations - that alone will boost the fortunes of the business community in Tobago. Input into pan, band creations everything that relates to the business of Carnival will improve ten fold in Tobago when this change occurs. The tourists who would have experienced carnival in Trinidad would come back for the Tobago installment and as the new date becomes a fixture and the rest of the World learns about it the government and business communities would have to expand infrastructure to cope with the movement of people for this new carnival date.
I see Tobago's carnival becoming a festival that takes the best from Trinidad's carnival that would keep the original lent-hen dates the same while the change takes place in Tobago. Bands would move over to the sister island and add to the local production thereby adding impact to the festival (good for the international video advertisements). I applaud Mr. Peters for approaching the Tobago House of Assembly with this brilliant idea. I hope that Mr. Orville London and culture Secretary Tracey Celestine agree with this plan and get a date that would capitalize on the flow of tourists to the region.
This is a win win situation and I really do hope that we would soon see two major carnival celebrations in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ROTT). Now this has nothing to do with the Point Fortin celebration that is growing into a mini carnival. Tobago is special and is a tourist destination that is well known in Europe and North America. This is long overdue and should be implemented without delay!
from makalidurga