More Grand Kadooment Bands have been launching earlier to build momentum and to show that they are ready for this year’s Crop Over Festival.
While some changes are likely to occur, president of the Barbados Association of Masqueraders (BAM), Bryan Worrell, says last year’s route will remain.
“The route remains the same but we are making some tweaks. Last year was the first so it may take a few times on it to [improve] but right now we are on the same route,” he said.
In 2024, the Grand Kadooment parade began near the Helipad in The City, travelled along Princess Alice Highway, President Kennedy Drive, Barbarees Hill, Eagle Hall, Black Rock Main Road and ended on the Mighty Grynner Highway.
Worrell was speaking to the DAILY NATION yesterday while also highlighting the association’s recent We Ready campaign launched on social media to alert the public that the bands were already gearing up for the season and to ensure masqueraders had more time to pay for their costumes.
“We made an effort to bring forward the band launches as early as we could and so far a number of bands have already launched and a few more are in the pipeline to come out within the month.
More time to pay
“We want to build the vibe to get people engaged and to know Crop Over is coming, so that they can look out for the bands and give themselves more time to pay for the costumes,” he added.
Adinkra, Betty West, Blue Box Cart, Colorz Entertainment, Khepri Kulture, Envy Mas, Kontact, Krave, Northern Mas, Pampalam and Pandemonium Carnival were all tagged in the We Ready campaign.
So far, Dreams Mas Zulu Entertainment and Aura Experience have revealed their 2025 costume packages. Vida by Esquire is set to launch on March 23.
The BAM president said discussions with the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) were ongoing.
“We are making some progress into finalising everything, and getting the band rules and regulations ready so that we can start registering the bands for the upcoming festival. So things are going pretty good so far.”
Training
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Senator Dr Shantal Munro-Knight agreed that the talks for
Crop Over 2025 had been going “quite well”.
“We’ve asked people to reflect on what they would like to see going forward,” she said, adding training was one of the recommendations.
“We have had a few recommendations that the Division [of Culture], through the NCF, is already putting in place. We heard recommendations that identified specific areas of training and how the training should be delivered. We are already doing that.”
Munro-Knight said the early band launches could bode well for the parade.
“The early launching was one of the areas for discussion. We needed
to be able to make sure that people know about Crop Over earlier . . . . That, to me, is a testament to the effort to engage people.”
Speaking during a break at the SDG Youth Summit at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, she acknowledged that the conversation on how to preserve cultural heritage themes within Grand Kadooment amidst commercialisation continued.
“Last year was a special time as we celebrated the 50th anniversary and we did a lot of reflection on that. We always have our eye on what we need to do to take us forward.
“One of the big discussions that we’ve been having around Crop Over is what we do in terms of the culture and heritage aspect. What does that mean when many Barbadians still want the ‘pretty mas’? Is it still relevant? Where does it land? Most people see this as something important but it’s also how we infuse it with customer demand,” she said.
The minister did not go into many details but said that despite the challenges, there would be some improvements.
“If you look at Trinidad Carnival, all of the discussions, the difficulties, the need for resources . . . everybody is having the same challenges that we are, but we are committed to making sure that we can continue to innovate for relevance.
“I am excited about Crop Over 2025. You should look out for innovations that you will see coming for
Crop Over 2025. There will be some things that we will do better and do differently as well,” she added.
Pool party
On Sunday night, Aura Experience launched all of its costumes virtually. Its theme is Terra Infinita: Beyond The Ice Wall.
They also held a launch day pool party at Vale View Manor in Kirtons, St Philip, where some of the costumes from their six sections were paraded.
General manager Rondell Jones said the earlier launch was a strategic decision.
“Last year we launched at the end of March, but this time we are coming about two weeks earlier. It’s good to get your products out there and let the patrons see what you have to offer and let them make earlier decisions and plan their summer.
“We understand that things have changed and these costumes are a bit more expensive. One of the reasons to launch earlier is to give people a bit more time to pay, so they don’t have the pressure to pay in about two months,” Jones said.
“Last year we had about 2 400 people on the road and that was a bit of a challenge. This year we will probably do around 2 000. And based on the feedback . . . it’s looking good so far.” (TG)
