Culture Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly says the 2017 Carnival- dubbed the Greatest Show on Earth— is expected to be a safe and enjoyable.
The annual street parade of costume and non-costume mass began with the annual J’Ouvert at 4 am.
Contacted for comment yesterday, Gadsby-Dolly said the National Carnival Commission (NCC), which manages the events with the Police Service, the Defence Force, the Fire Service and the Tourism Development Company (TDC) “have all publicly pledged their readiness to ensure the safety, security and above all enjoyment of the festivities.”
Following this morning J’Ouvert celebrations there will be the Parade of the Bands at various venues across the country, including South Quay and the Queen’s Park Savannah , Port-of-Spain.
Gadsby-Dolly said: “We are as prepared as we have ever been as a country for Carnival 2017.”
Gadsby-Dolly, who also holds the Community Development and the Arts portfolios, told the T&T Guardian yesterday: “As Trinbagonians it is for us to believe in our product as the greatest, from this flows the efforts to make it so—according to our unique and complex definition of the term ‘great’.”
She said, while nothing was perfect, “the fact that visitors keep coming to our shores to enjoy and participate in what we offer signals that we have something worthy on offer.”
Gadsby-Dolly said: “We see tourists playing the pan, tourists playing blue devils during Canboulay, tourists deejaying in fetes, tourists participating in our premier competitions, and we’ll see thousands on the streets playing mas.”
The minister added: “T&T Carnival is about participation and our model welcomes people in and allows them to immerse themselves in the total experience not as spectators but as full-fledged participants—Trinbagonians for a season.”
She said the multifaceted nature of our celebrations, the ease of participation, the sheer volume of events, the energy that is impossible to miss, the quality of the musical offerings, the annual historical pilgrimage to Piccadilly Street to focus on the historical underpinnings, the explosion of creativity and colour in the mas, the convenience of choice regarding the type of costuming one prefers for the masquerade, the ability to join unique celebrations all over this island, in every region—not just Port-of-Spain, the emphasis on the traditional, authentic mas of the islands.
According to Gadsby-Dolly, “all of these are characteristics which we as citizens of this nation should consider as we decide whether this is the greatest show on Earth,” adding that
“No one else has this total experience on offer. It is unique, authentic and it is ours.”
Gadsby-Dolly said if citizens “decide that this is the greatest show on earth, then no one can take that away from us. That is what we’ll exude, with an energy that is infectious.”
She said another heartening fact about the festival was that “the youths are out in force in every aspect of the Carnival arts—even in pan making—evidence that this Carnival product, though undoubtedly requiring some refinement and definition, has retained its cultural relevance.”
Gadsby-Dolly also advised citizens “to enjoy this Carnival to the fullest, in whatever way you choose to.”
She said not everyone “has to join the mas, not everyone has to play pan or sing calypso to enjoy the Carnival as there is some aspect of the culture for everyone to enjoy at this time. “
Gadsby Dolly said: “For many, the Carnival season is an annual purging of mental stress; an escape valve.
“To others, it represents opportunities for significant revenue generation; but for all of us, our indigenous Carnival is a reflection of who we were, who we are, and who we will be.”