At a recent media briefing on Wednesday, Tamara Gibson, Chair of the Carnival Planning and Management Committee (CPMC), celebrated the festival’s successes and announced the winners of the Parade of Bands.
She emphasised the CPMC’s commitment to inclusivity and cultural preservation and described the festival as a showcase of “creativity and the beauty of our culture,” and a “stellar product, produced for the carnival season.”
The Mas Bands were praised for their spectacular performances, with Tribe of Twel being awarded Band of the Year.
In individual competitions, Sharon Tanner of Tribe of Twel won for her portrayal of ‘Sisters in the Stream, Rituals of Faith and Fellowship,’ while Giovanni St Omer of Fuzion Mas took second place with ‘Drogon King of Dragons, Protector of the Realm.’
The dynamic Soca artist Ricky T clinched the Road March title with his song, ‘Look Something to Talk About.’
J’ouvert was won by Back in Time with their portrayal of ‘West Indies Cricket, Our Pride, Our Passion, Our Pain,’ and Cuthbert Modeste won the Ole Mas category with ‘Jars on the Square.’
Organizers praised the contributions of stakeholders and recognized the event’s success as a collective effort. They acknowledged the involvement of various organizations, including the Events Company of Saint Lucia, the Cultural Development Foundation, and the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA).
“We really saw creativity and the beauty of our culture on the road (Monday and Tuesday),” declared Gibson. She also acknowledged the contributions of artists, steel pan players, other performers, and stakeholders in making Saint Lucian Carnival 2024 a success.
Geraine Georges, Public Relations Manager of the SLTA, expressed her organisation’s commitment to promoting Lucian Carnival globally, highlighting its role in attracting visitors. Preliminary figures indicate a record-high number of arrivals during the carnival period, showcasing its growing popularity. Georges noted, “Preliminary figures indicate that we are setting a record for Lucian Carnival 2024 …trending well over 18,000 arrivals between the 7th to the 16th (July), which is the heavy carnival period, and the week of private events, as well as our National Parade of the Bands.” She added that apart from carnival celebrations, the destination was also highlighted.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ronald Philip reported a safe and incident-free carnival, attributing this success to effective national security measures.
Plans for future editions include strategies to alleviate traffic congestion and enhance the overall experience for attendees. Phillip noted greater synergy among the CPMC, band leaders, stakeholders, and civil society this year. “Overall, it was a very good carnival for the police …and we know we have some small issues related to traffic. We are in an advanced stage of discussion to see how, next year, we can utilize a ‘Park and Ride’ system to mitigate the effects of traffic congestion.”