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St Kitts-Nevis: Sugar Mas 50 is on, calendar of events revealed

Published 11 November 2021

Basseterre 

Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source

Karla Berridge 

The long-awaited calendar detailing the list of events for the 50th staging of St. Kitts and Nevis National Carnival has been released with a number of shows that are expected to be a hybrid of live and virtual events.

A sneak peek of the calendar was released on Monday and the official release took place on Wednesday, where Chair of the National Carnival Committee Shannon Hawley detailed what is expected for each event.

“This year we have a hybrid. We know we’ve been in the middle of a pandemic and we’ve been working with the Task Force; we want to ensure that at the end of the day everyone is safe and we are having a live audience’” she said, “We will still have the opportunity to go virtual at every event that we are hosting this year. You will still have that opportunity to log on and view all of the national carnival events. Some of the major events and finals will pay-per-view, however, the majority of the shows will be free to view online.”

The calendar detailing the core events for Sugar Mas outlines the return of some shows that were not hosted last year due to the pandemic. Based on the calendar, pageants including the National Carnival Queen Pageant and the National Carnival Swimwear pageant are making a comeback. Also being reintroduced is the highly anticipated Soca Monarch competition.

“The core events have been released. We felt it was absolutely necessary, people were asking where are the events, what’s happening for carnival, is there a carnival and we felt that it was necessary to release our core events so that people could recognize and confirm that there definitely will be a Sugar Mas 50. The intention is to build on it, the situation is fluid with the advice and instructions of the National COVID-19 Taskforce.”

Hawley informed that while this calendar details the core events which are the staple events for Carnival in St.Kitts and Nevis, discussions are underway for the hosting of fringe activities to be hosted by other stakeholders. Before the pandemic, these events included Inception Fete, Cooler Fete, Glow Parade, Flag Fest etc.

Based on the calendar, the Sugar Mas activities essentially kicked off with a series of virtual competitions: photography and creative arts competitions and the Facetime MUA Challenge.

Calypso tents will begin on Saturday, November 13and will be a virtual event. The Carnival Chair said as the committee works on the production of the show, this first event will not have a live audience, however, the upcoming calypso tents on November 20 and 27 will be both virtual and in person.

The opening of Sugar Mas 50 is slated for December 3. Hawley said last year’s opening is still being talked about today and so the committee intends to make it an even greater event than last year’s.

“We will be going down memory lane for the grand opening. We are here today because of what was started 50 years ago and prior to that. The grand opening of Carnival will be held at Carnival Village before a live audience and virtual as well.”

The reintroduction of the Soca Monarch Competition saw 50 soca artistes, new and returning, registering to take part in the event. Eliminations for soca monarch will be done through a virtual CD format where judges will listen to each submission and make the decision in terms of which songs will make it into the finals. This event will take place on December 4th and will be live online. Following the eliminations, 8 persons will be selected for the power soca segment and 7 persons will be selected for the groovy soca segment where they will come up against groovy soca king Rucas H.E on December 23.

At the end of the registration process for the Senior Calypso Monarch, 70 Calypsonians had registered to participate in the show. Eliminations for the Calypso competition will take place on December 10, 11and 12, with the finals expected to be hosted on December 30.

Hawley also used the opportunity to welcome back pageants that were on a hiatus due to the pandemic. The Queen Pageant and Swimwear pageant will each see five ladies vying for the title. The National Carnival Swimwear Pageant will be held on December 22 and the National Carnival Queen Pageant will take place on December 29.

Hawley also used the opportunity to humorously clear up the misconception that this year’s J’ouvert dubbed ‘Bubble J’ouvert’ will involve actual bubbles. She explained that the concept of the ‘bubble’ is that unlike J’ouverts of the past, which moved through the streets of downtown Basseterre, this bubble J’ouvert will be stationary in a big area where people can go and be entertained by bands and DJs as is done on J’ouvert morning. This event will take place on December 27.

Other events on the calendar include In the Spirit of Christmas, the Celebrate SKN Christmas Decorating Contest, Folklore Avenue, Festive Friday, Panorama SKN, Sugar Mas Track and Field Invitational, Culcha Pot (Sugar Mas Edition), Icons Road March Edition and Folklore Caravan.

Sugar Mas 50 officially wraps up on January 3 with the Sugar Mas Awards.

Activities for Sugar Mas 50 are guided by the theme “Sugar Mas 50! Fun, Vibe, Energy”.

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