Calypso Finalists Announced

The Calypso Semi-finals were hosted on Sunday June 30th at the National Cultural Centre. The results were announced on Monday 1st July at a press conference at the National Cultural Centre. The results were presented in a sealed envelope by Sue Monplaisir, Support Public Relations Officer for Events Saint Lucia, to Celeste Burton, Chairperson of the Calypso Management Committee (CMC), who announced the finalists.

Out of the eighteen contestants who participated in the event, nine of them qualified to compete against the 2018 Calypso Monarch, TC Brown, at the Calypso finals. The nine qualifiers are TiCarro, Ambrose the Juiceman, Educator, Walleigh, Chocolate, Teddy Boy, Menell, Taker, and Ready. The Calypso Semi-Finals competition was, according to Sue Monplaisir, “A fantastic show.”

As for what could be expected at the Calypso Finals, Celeste Burton, proclaimed, “Saint Lucians can expect a fantastic show, the team is all ready and geared; they’ve put everything in place and I am sure if you drive by The Sab along the highway, you would notice that preparations are already up for all the national events –because The Sab is the home of Carnival for the major activities. So we are all set and ready to go.”

The St.Lucia Calypso Finals will take place at The Sab in Vigie on Saturday July 13th.

TC Brown is a two-time Calypso Monarch who won in 2001 and 2018. This year his crown will be challenged by Menell and Walleigh who have both won the Calypso crown four times, and Educator who has won it twice.

The Calypso Finals will be preceded by a series of events which include, the National Carnival Queen Pageant scheduled for July 5th, the Groovy and Power Soca Monarch on July 6th, Kiddies Carnival on July 7th, Inter-commercial House on July 9th, King and Queen of the Bands on July 11th, and Panorama on  July 12th. The Calypso Finals will be followed by the J’ouvert on the 14th of July and the Parade of The Bands on the 15th and 16th. Celeste Burton enthusiastically urged the public to support the calendar of events. She exclaimed, “We are inviting Saint Lucians to come out and support; be part of all the activities that are happening, and certainly be part of the Finals [Calypso] that will be happening with our nine qualifying artistes who will be going up against our own TC brown.”