Crop of changes

THE REMOVAL of the Soca Royale clash and the return of two key events to the Gymnasium of the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex are among likely changes for Crop-Over 2011.Speaking to the DAILY NATION ahead of the customary review sessions with the stakeholders, chairman of the National Cultural Foundation (NCF), Ken Knight, said some changes would be conditional upon whether the “economy brightens up”.On the issue of the intended battle of Soca Royale at Bushy Park, which Party Monarch Anderson Blood Armstrong won by default after Sweet Soca winner Terencia TC Coward did not participate, Knight said that event was in for a tweaking.“There are some reservations about it, and I personally believe that it should be looked at. You’ll have a winner of the Sweet Soca and one for the Party Monarch, and I think that’s all you really need. “I think the promoters with the NCF would have brought some hype to the whole situation, but it’s clear, I think, that both sides would just prefer that due winners are declared for that reason and that’s the end of it . . . . I have no problem with that,” Knight said.The Pic-O-De-Crop Semi-Finals and the Scotiabank Junior Monarch Finals, which were both staged at the National Stadium this year, might be back at the Gymnasium next season.He said an indoor venue was ideal for the increasingly popular Scotiabank Junior Monarch Finals.“I think that for the youngsters in developing their art form, I think they would feel more comfortable at this stage in the development of their careers to have an indoor event . . . . It was not the ideal situation, but given the limited fiscal resources, we did what we had to do,” Knight said.He said the NCF got some very positive feedback from stakeholders after last year’s semi-final at the Gym, which had a level of intimacy because of the layout. “Once the economy brightens up and there’s the availability of funding, we will possibly do the semis back at the Gymnasium and keep the kids at the Gymnasium as well,” Knight stated.Overall, Knight felt the NCF had a “very successful season” despite the Bushy Park fallout with the booing of TC, and the much publicised altercation between calypso monarch Anthony Gabby Carter and Festival Stage host Anthony Admiral Nelson at Cohobblopot last Sunday night.“I think it was a pretty good Crop-Over and we had a lot of non-musical, traditional-type events . . . . It worked out quite well,” he said, adding that there was a “substantial” number of Barbadians who came home for Crop-Over, especially from Canada.