FARLEY HILL NATIONAL PARK will remain the site
for the future staging of the Sweet Soca and Party Monarch
competitions for the time being.
This was indicated by Minister of Culture Steve
Blackett and National Cultural Foundation (NCF) chairman Ken Knight,
who spoke to the DAILY NATION separately during the events on Sunday
night.
"I have had comments all day that the
configuration of Farley Hill is pleasing," Blackett said.
"It worked out pretty well. Having rebranded
the event from what obtained at the East Coast with the introduction
of the Sweet Soca competition, we're well on the way to giving the
sponsors and public a better overall event.
"We feel very comfortable with Farley Hill.
I think we've adapted it very well . . . to suit the occasion,"
Knight stated
However, the chairman added that while there were
no immediate plans to take the Party Monarch competition back to
East Coast Road, the NCF would consider it in future, once given the
go-ahead by the Ministry of the Environment.
"We'll do our re-evaluation process after
Crop-Over in terms of site locations for next year," he said,
adding that the feedback from NCF staff was positive.
"From our feedback, Farley Hill is
comfortable to work with, it's less challenging than the East Coast
from the point of view of infrastructure and installation. There are
many shows that are held here throughout the year so it's an easy
site to adapt to."
Knight also responded to the issue of the impact
of the 7 500-plus crowd, as estimated by head of security Louis
Sealy, on the fragile park, a debate recently highlighted in the
Press.
"We were hoping for about 10 000; we've had
a really comfortable crowd. I don't think the park suffered unduly
because of it," he said.
Both Blackett and Knight indicated the judging
criteria for the Party Monarch, sponsored this year by Mount Gay and
LIME, will be addressed as artistes such as TC, Natahlee and Mr Dale
were judged in both competitions with the same songs.
"At the end of the day we're looking at a
product that will be best marketed to the people and what they
want," Knight said.
"We'll be looking at it in our post-mortems
and reviews to tweak and adjust what we presented [Sunday] today.
They will have to be separate, but there will have to be clear and
definitive descriptions of both competitions and it will be done in
a way that will be communicated to prospective participants,"
Blackett said.
Knight also reiterated his earlier comments on
having the Sweet Soca competition, sponsored this year by Banks and
98.1, opened to private enterprise.
"Crop-Over is not something that is only
reserved for the NCF, particularly from a promotional perspective.
We want to encourage the development of the cultural industries and
the more private promoters that come on board, the better it is for
the development of Crop-Over."
The police reported that it was an incident-free
event. (MS)
