By John Denny Observer Reporter
johndenny@thestkittsnevisobserver.com (Charlestown, Nevis) ” Culturama festivities will be winding up over the next few days, but the best is yet to come. Tonight: August 1, 9 p.m. at Grove Park will be the Battle of the Bands or “Badness Outta Style Concert.” Saturday: 7 a.m. at the Charlestown Villa will be the Food & Craft Fair and Day of Legends. Legends Cricket Match 1 p.m. at Grove Park and TDC Sr. Kaiso Finals, 9 p.m. at the Cultural Complex. Sunday: Ms. Culture Queen Pageant, 8 p.m. at the Cultural Complex. Monday, Aug. 4th, Emancipation J”Ouvert Jump Up at 5 p.m. Charlestown and at 9 p.m. in the Cultural Village will be the Freedom Concert featuring Buju Banton. Tuesday August 5th at noon in Charlestown will be the Street Parade and Las” Lap. Earlier this week, the order in which the Sr. Calypso finalists will perform Saturday night was decided by a lottery in which the performers drew their number from a hat. Also at the ceremony/luncheon, all the finalists received a $750 prize for making this far in the competition. The order is: 1 Astro 2 Baker 3 Pungwa 4 Jo Jo 5 King Dis N Dat 6 Nutsi 7 De Inspirer 8 Daddy Fresh Cold Dis N Day has just recently released a new CD and the title track Jack Ass in the House has been receiving considerable airplay on certain radio stations. The song is a scathing, yet humorous political commentary of a session of Parliament held last year. De Inspirer, at the tender age of 14, is the youngest of the Sr. Calypso contenders. Last year he took the crown of Monarch at the Jr. competition. Generally, the Sr. competition is reserved for those over the age of 18, but Culturama Committee Chairman Halstead “Sooty” Byron said the exception was well justified. “We saw real potential in De Inspirer and for the sake of the art form decided to let him compete,” said Sooty “This young man is a real talent and I cannot see him waiting until he is 18. We need to look beyond the little stuff because I believe he has the fortitude and the commitment to compete with seniors.” De Inspirer has some surprising plans for his $750. “I”m going to use it to buy school supplies,” he said. A Dominican beauty walked away with the third annual Miss Caribbean Culture title for the second year in succession. Miss Marah Water was crowned by the show’s 2007 queen Ms. Leandra Lander with the assistance of Premier of Nevis Hon. Joseph Parry, at the Nevis Cultural Complex in the early hours of July 26, 2008. Moments after, Ms. Walters who won from a field of nine contestants told the Department of Information that she was excided about here first win outside of Dominica. “I was very, very thrilled. I knew I had worked hard for this pageant and I am just reaping the fruits of what I had sown. I am very grateful to God especially for guiding me throughout this pageant because I knew without him I not have made it. I am very pleased, very happy that I have made my country proud,” she said. Ms. Walter said her win was an indication that Dominica had much talent and that the girls who had been selected to participate in regional pageants did their best and represented the island well. The contest brought together participants from the United States Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua, St. Vincent, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Anguilla and host country Nevis and Ms. Walter said she was very pleased with the idea of integration. “I love the idea of integration and I am very pleased that the Caribbean was finding alternate ways of integrating not only through Caricom and the CSME but through pageantry. “I want to commend the committee for the Miss Caribbean Culture Pageant. I know they are very young but it shows that our youth are developing themselves and the interest in young people. I want to tell them to continue with the good work,” she said. Meantime, Minister of Culture in the Nevis Island Administration Hon. Hensley Daniel encouraged the participants to find time to savor the cuisine and pristine beauty of Nevis and also to be mindful that the pageant could help them to broaden their horizons and develop a more informed perspective of the Caribbean. He also commended the show’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Randy Jeffers, and his team for having had the confidence to translate [plans] through into action. Mr. Jeffers said he was pleased with the outcome of the pageant. “I looked at the show and I think the judging was fabulous, it was fairly judged. The patronage was much better than last year. It is growing,” he said. The contestants competed in Island Wear and Promotional Speech; Swimwear, Talent and Evening Wear and Interview. Best in Island wear and Best Promotional speech were captured by Miss St. Vincent, Shanel Nanton (Tally me Banana); Miss Dominica won Best in Evening wear (Temptress of the Tides) and Best in Swimwear (Enchantment of Midnight Glitter); Best Talent went to Miss. St. Kitts, Fatisha Imo; Best Interview went to Miss USVI, Janeisha John and Miss Congeniality went to Miss Antigua, Daina Barnes. The contest was first staged in 2006 when Nevisian born Ms. Jamilla Parris was crowned the first Miss Caribbean Culture Queen and Ms. Leandra Lander of Dominica captured the crown in 2007. The 2008 Miss Culture Subcommittee under the guidance of the Nevis Cultural Development Foundation and the Festivals Secretariat, on Sunday July 27, hosted the Bmobile sponsored Miss Culture Swimwear competition. It was held at the Nevis Cultural Complex in Charlestown and attracted a crowd including government officials and other dignitaries. Miss Tanisha Hendrickson of Craddock Road, Miss Shamilla Wilkinson of Bath Village, Miss Shanyra Richardson of Newcastle and Miss Roslyn Berkley of sister island St. Kitts, appeared in Cultural Wear and one and two-piece swimsuits. The themes of the outfits ranged from patriotism to cherishing things Nevisian, while the Cultural Wear was specially geared towards the island’s history. The Miss Culture Queen Pageant would be held under the theme “Our Queen’s Journey” on Sunday, August 3 at the Cultural Complex.” The points from the swimsuit competition would be revealed then.
