Chief Executive Officer of the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) Carol Roberts says a balance will have to be struck between the party and the cultural aspects of Crop Over.
She made the observation in response to a question about complaints being raised about the festival’s cultural importance and input, and being taken over by many private parties which have over the years become a major focus and attraction for patrons.
Speaking to the DAILY NATION recently on Princess Alice Highway shortly after the start of the Flow Grand Kadooment, the NCF chief expressed general satisfaction with the way the festival had turned out up to that point, noting the very favourable response to virtually all the activities. She said there were “not so many things to do differently,” but acknowledged there were some “markers that we have to be cognisant of.”
“We have to as a country, close that distance between those people who love Crop Over whether visitor or local because of the parties and those who hanker for more cultural and heritage inputs,” Roberts said.
She pointed out the NCF “takes most of the responsibility for the cultural and heritage inputs.
“I think it is one of those markers and trends that I think we need to notice,” she said.
She also warned Barbados must be aware of the threat of competition from other carnivals in the region and suggested that to remain competitive, the festival must be allowed to evolve.
“We must never lose sight of the fact that there are several other carnivals in the region and they follow almost a chronological order and therefore how do we remain competitive,” Roberts said.
In a brief overview of the season, she said the NCF team kept its heads down and did what it set out to do.
“We did it with the support of all of our partners. We addressed issues as they arose,” she added.
One of those issues she identified as the problem with chairs at the Pic O De Crop Finals at the National Botanical Gardens in Waterford, St Michael on Friday where she explained: “We had to swap out some of the chairs because we noticed that some of them were not as sturdy as they could be . . . that delayed the opening of the gates but it did not delay the start of the actual event which started promptly at 8 p.m..”
Roberts contended that contrary to popular opinion, changes to the Festival “are not within my purview.”
She said: “I just listen, follow instructions and take direction”.
