Another Culurama has come and gone with many more questions now being asked than ever before. What is factually undisputable is the very low interest shown towards this our 34-year festival and there seem to be no real effort by those in charge to change the course of direction. The brightest moments, however, were at the end with the J”Ouvert Jump Up and Cultural Street Parade that were very well attended and supported. Prior to these events the Culturama feeling was missing, the buzz in town was lacking and the visiting faces were scattered and few. When the Nevis Cultural Development Foundation was established just a few months ago, the questions as to why at that time such a body was put in place and for what reasons.” The monthly amounts being dished out in salaries and other related expenses caused one to think that Culturama 2K8 would have been handled much better and some rejuvenation in the festivities would have been realized. Alas! This was not to be as re-scheduled and cancelled shows were more than the norm. Attendances for all shows, with the exception of the Ms. Culture Pageant were disappointing. The debatable issue as to whether or not the Junior Kaiso King at age 14 should have competed in the Senior Kaiso Competition is still being heard. That seemingly kept some folks away from the calypso show as the low attendance suggested.” However, the precedence is now set and what the future holds for that show’s participation remains interesting. The other show worth mentioning, the Ms. Culture Queen Pageant, had only 4 participants, the lowest number of young ladies vying for that title in the history of Culturama.” That resulting figure comes after years of controversy over various aspects of the show and participating young ladies being unfairly treated and disappointed from experiences. My heartiest congratulations go out to all who participated and especially the winners. One hope that Culturama 2009 will show some improvements and will be better organized so that greater support to the shows will be evident.” The foundation responsible for all that is now in place and had an experience that should serve as a good lesson.
