And what about Carnival?

This costume is just a peek of Islandpeople Mas C2K11 presentation—Shades of the Universe.
Sneak Peek at Island people Mas

The year is 2014, the earth has been destroyed by the hands of its inhabitants...mankind. One tiny island on the earth where carnival was the one activity that took them away from the troubled and depressing strains of their reality is also destroyed. However, the story does not end there; thanks to the brilliance of one gifted scientist, who in his wisdom saw the destruction coming, assembled a team to create costume designs to withstand the test of time and launched them into space in special pods into...the universe.

His hope was that one day the costumes would be discovered by other life forms and if by chance any one man or thing survived the destruction, they would one day relive and restore what we knew as Carnival. To see what these costumes are, patrons will have to go to the Islandpeople Mas Carnival 2011 presentation—Shades of the Universe— tonight, at Pier 1, Chaguaramas, at 10 pm. Tickets are available at the IF House, on Tragarete Road, and from the IP Mas Band Mas Camp, 50 O'Connor Street, Woodbrook.


The People’s Partnership and culture?



Just under three months old, there has been no honeymoon period for the new young People’s Patnership government. With the superstitious among us claiming that the PP is blighted, given the amount of challenges from Mother Nature and crime already faced, it’s left to be seen how this new administration copes with the countless pressing issues it faces from myriad quarters. Flooding, an over active rainy season and persistent criminal activity aside, there’s also the complex issue of culture to address, especially given the multicultural dimensions unique to T&T. For starters, there’s just about half year left before Carnival Monday 2011 and there’s nary a whisper about plans for the “national festival

Peter Minshall’s Madame Hiroshima majestically parades in front of thousands on
Carnival
Tuesday at the Queen’s Park Savannah.

With more than half-dozen mas bands already launched, a new National Carnival Commission (NCC) and chairman are yet to be constituted. Because of this the mas-loving public, and the Special Interest Groups (Pan Trinbago, NCBA, NCDF, Tuco) are in the dark about next year’s Carnival, and quite anxious. On the front burner of these Carnival issues is the question, would the Parade of Bands be returned inside the Queen’s Park Savannah? Demolishing the Grand Stand and having the parade on the roadway were two of the most dotish, lame brain decisions made by the past government.
Another point is, would the backward idea of calypsonians singing one song in the national calypso monarch final be reversed to the former glory days of rendering two ditties?’ Would the winner of the National Panorama competition be given a first prize of one million dollars is another hinging question; Would the exercise for media accreditation be initiated much earlier than in past years, affording all players ample time to prepare and plan, thereby alleviating the disrespect and abuse perennially meted out to working journalists by rude, fly-by-night officials and security personnel? These are just a few of the critical C2K11 issues facing this new government. Notice that I haven’t mentioned anything about chutney, parang, chutney soca, parang soca, chut-kai-pan, Rising Stars, Synergy talent contests, classical music, theatre, fine arts and artists, culinary arts, fashion, or any of our religious festivals.
PETER RAY BLOOD