MORE COLLABORATIONS and partnerships within communities will assist the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) in widening the “scope” of the Crop Over brand.
Addressing the audience at the Sponsors’ Launch last Friday evening at Ilaro Court, chairman of the state agency which produces the festival, Maureen Graham, said: “Last season, it was about significant milestones and anniversaries, our focus then was on accepting ownership . . . ownership of our culture, of our festivals and of all that is uniquely Barbadian. Our activities were centred on our history and on the legacies we will leave in our wake.
“Of course, leaving a legacy means ensuring the continued survival, viability and positioning of this festival product among the best in the world. It means recognising that our market is changing and therefore our product must be able to meet the growing demands of a cross-generational target audience in order to remain relevant in the future. And so, we reset our coordinates to embark on a new direction, embracing the change we seek, to keep us on that path to success. A challenge that is not only affecting us, but festivals around the region and across the globe.
“It will mean more collaborations and partnerships with communities, producers and corporate entities like the organisations you represent, to help us broaden the scope of this festival brand. Your support continues to provide a necessary component in this Crop Over success story that will in turn be a rewarding investment in our culture for your company, not only from a financial perspective, but also through that unquantifiable bonus of goodwill.”
She said that the “themes, concepts and collaborations” throughout the Crop Over calendar were “designed to marry our mandate of preservation” of a festival “steeped in traditions that date back to the days of the plantation”.
The task they faced, she added, was to remain “attractive to the differing segments of our target audience from the silent generation before the baby boomers to the millennials and the generation Zs.” (GBM)