CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER to the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) for yet another successful staging of the Soca Royale event at Bushy Park, St Philip on Sunday.
It was by no means a perfect production, but the fact that the foundation might not have been able to get every last aspect of the event right ought not to take away from the success achieved, no doubt due to a considerable amount of work and sacrifice by its management and staff.
We are also very mindful of the fact that even with all the good intention in the world, the NCF could not have done it without the invaluable support of many of its stakeholders whose contributions would have been voluntary or offered at rates lower than their true worth.
While the foundation has not yet released the numbers, casual observation suggests that it would have been the largest audience since the event was moved to the St Philip location in 2010. Now that this event has been largely accepted within the compound of the sprawling Bushy Park Racing Circuit, it ought to be a primary goal of the foundation to see the crowd returned to what used to obtain when the competitions were staged at the “Calypso Bowl” on the Ermie Bourne Highway.
We recognise that the evolving face of the Bushy Park complex would have created some challenges for the foundation as the set-up of facilities has had to be altered from year to year, but if the NCF wants to grow the event, its post mortem should give serious consideration to the heavy congestion between the stage and the tents occupied by the judges, media and some food providers.
In fact, given how tightly patrons were packed in this area, we found it absolutely amazing that there were no clashes between individuals as patrons tried to make their way around the venue. Then when the most popular competitors took to the stage and their fans were interested in doing nothing else but support them, it was quite clear that jostling in the audience for space to move raised the level of agitation.
If the weekend gone is anything to judge by, Soca Royale will be even bigger next year and the foundation must improve on the layout and use of the expansive complex, notwithstanding the fact that the location of buildings and bleachers must present some restrictions.
What can’t be denied, however, is that transportation logistics make Bushy Park a far more attractive location for patrons than the Ermie Bourne Highway. The temporary one-way road system works smoothly; if the NCF attracted twice as many patrons as the best years on the East Coast, there would still be adequate parking in St Philip; and the general layout allows for the very efficient use of public transportation.
The NCF therefore has our support for the continued use and possible expansion of this kind of activity at Bushy Park. So while we congratulate Sweet Soca winner Edwin Yearwood as well as Peter Ram for an overwhelming victory in the Party Monarch competition, and wish them both successful reigns, we should all be mindful that without the hard work and dedication of the men and women on the staff of the NCF, the outcome could have drawn far fewer compliments.