A SUGGESTION THAT could see the Spring Garden Highway bustling with 24-hour activity for Crop Over Festival has found favour with promoters and stallholders. Some said it was “long overdue”, a “good idea” and “something that could work”.
Speaking to the SUNDAY SUN during the launch of the 50th anniversary of Independence celebrations at Independence Square on Wednesday night, Minister of Culture Stephen Lashley stressed that the idea to have round-the-clock entertainment on Spring Garden for the last two weeks of the festival was just a proposal at this stage.
“That two-week period, where we’re actually going to get the climax to Crop Over, we want to actually have Spring Garden open up like that . . . . We believe that it’s that kind of pull that Spring Garden can benefit from. But like everything, this is something that we will work very closely with our stakeholders, and we will make sure and do it,” Lashley said.
Although he is not yet aware of how the changes will be implemented and the impact, Elder Brian Clarke of the popular Cou Cou Village, which is perhaps the largest stall on Spring Garden, is very keen on the idea.
“It gives you time to set up early and move into the final days of the festival without rushing. My first thought would be that it’s a good idea,” Clarke stated.
While there is a possibility of increased earnings, he said stallholders will have to up their game and manage their businesses properly in order to attract patrons and make it profitable.
“It is up to the ministry too, being it’s opening two weeks before, to make sure they have some activity going on that can attract people to Spring Garden. Once it’s done right, it should be profitable,” he said.
Head of the Barbados Association of Masqueraders and producer, Chetwin Stewart, also welcomes the idea.
“Anything that can generate interest and have people coming down, especially too, something else for the tourists to do other than Oistins . . . . I think it’s a good idea, it’s just how it will be executed and what activities they will have,” Stewart said. He envisaged a situation in which vendors could ply their different wares and products.
Richard Haynes of Baje International and the newly formed Barbados Cares, a group of 31 promoters, said it was another way to exploit the potential of the festival during the six-week window.
“The more hours that we have to maximise our exposure, and obviously to expose our culture to the tourists, it will benefit the festival. As long as, of course, security is in place. You always want to make sure that people are safe at the end of the day,” he said.
Haynes and Stuart are agreed that the other challenge would be to ensure that there is enough activity to sustain the extension.
“It makes no sense having Spring Garden open for 24 hours if during 2 a.m. and six there is nothing really going on. You have to have a kind of a structured plan if you’re going to run for 24 hours,” he said, adding that the extension would work “great” for the final weekend when people are in “full Crop Over mode”.
Eric Lewis of MADD Entertainment described the possible move to 24 hours as something that was long in coming.
“If we are going to be selling a product called Crop Over to the world, then we cannot operate in a parochial setting where we limit the festivities to just a handful of hours. We must understand that there are business people who invest heavily in Crop Over in terms of stall people and people who sell food. We need to move into the 21st century,” Lewis said.
Like Lashley, none of the promoters thought that the extension would create a problem for producers of the weekly fetes and limes.
“I think it will complement. Because I think that bringing the crowds into that area will also feed business into their fetes. I don’t think it’s going to distract, but I’m open to discuss it,” Lashley said.
Haynes said people, especially tourists, were always looking for something to do in between events and a properly promoted and structured Spring Garden could be that place.
“As it is right now, the majority of the major events are private sector events and they are all doing exceptionally well and I think having Spring Garden abuzz with the cultural component. It just adds more interest in the festival,” Haynes argued.
Lewis said the market was big enough to accommodate 24-hour activity and people will determine the success of it.
“If you market your event to your people, then you shouldn’t have any problems. There will always be free limes and there have always been limes, but Crop Over has reached a stage where on a Friday night or Sunday night you could have four or five events going at the same time and people will select. And there are people who just cannot afford to go to a paid event, we have to understand that.
“There are people who might leave a paid event and then would look for some place to go and lime afterwards . . . . We have to open up the market and give each player a chance to satisfy the market,” Lewis said.
They have also welcomed the thrust by Lashley to amend the Liquor Licence Act, which currently restricts the sale of alcohol after 3 a.m., and a solution to the difficulties with value added tax (VAT) before Crop Over kicks in.
The promoters have all insisted that they never objected to paying tax, but the fact that the increase to 17.5 per cent, plus the eight per cent which has to be paid to the Copyright Society for Composers Authors and Publishers (COSCAP) has them paying out 25.5 per cent of their takings before they do anything else. They also have an issue with the insistence that VAT be paid on complimentary tickets.
“We’re not fighting about paying tax, we want to fight unfair taxation for the entertainment industry . . . ,” Haynes said.
Stewart and Lewis confirmed that the suggestion that the promoters form a body and speak as one voice has been acted on, and that an association should be up and running shortly.
yvettebest@nationnews.com