Steel Pan Bands parade
Saturday 19th August
There has been a lot of controversy about the steel bands this year at carnival. We were lucky to see the junior competition just after the children’s carnival, and even then it was touch and go, the stage was still being built late afternoon. The main event for the steel band competition was supposed to be held at the National stadium on the Saturday before Carnival. Steve and Sam (Wanderlust) had bought tickets ($60 each) to see the 8 bands in competition play. It was due to start at 6pm and even allowing for Grenada Mean Time, it should have been started by 8pm. We thought of them when it started raining by the bucket full. As it turned out the rain was the last on their mind, after being made to wait for hours with no information about what was going on, it was announced that the event was cancelled. The local radio was full of it the following Monday, calling it a national disgrace that such an event could be cancelled. The raison for the cancellation was somehow murky, it would seem that the Steel Pan Association was upset by the facilities made available to them, stage not up to standard, not even finished on time. It also transpired that only 500 people were attending the event, as it clashed with the Extreme White event. All the phone-ins were mentioning that pan was alive and kicking with loads of young people taking part but not supported and not given the space to flourish. I must admit we were a bit disappointed that we did not see any live music during the carnival, only a steel band (the commancheros) and even then it was a very small band (and we know that there is over 200 players of all ages playing in this band). Very different from the Martinique’s where near enough all the music was live with very few DJ trucks. Maybe tonight will redress the balance.
We are pleased to see that the event is going ahead, many trucks are unloading pans and players by the football field. As per usual, it takes a while for things to get going, but when they do it is brilliant. People are lining the street along the carenage, whole family have come out again, not in huge numbers but enough to create a nice atmosphere. Some have even dressed up in their carnival feathers. Again, we were expecting a few more bands, only 5 of them turned up but still it is a good evening. The Angels are the most followed and are the last to leave, guess winning the junior competition deserved a good jump up! We loved it!