Stephen Lashley, the Barbados Minister of Culture, wants to see more interaction between T&T and Barbados when it comes to Carnival festivities. Speaking to the T&T Guardian at a news conference to welcome foreign media to the annual Crop Over celebrations, Lashley said there was a lot of room for collaboration over the respective festivals. “I would like to see more of an inter-exchange and interaction between the two countries. I think that has been happening, but it would be great to have more. I think Barbadians welcome our Trinidadian brothers and sisters, and by extension I think we ought to go to Trinidad and have our performers perform there as well,” he said, drawing reference to the Junior Monarch exchange programme that already takes place between the two countries.
The T&T presence was certainly evident during the Crop Over. From soca artistes to masqueraders waving the red, black and white, the twin-island presence was everywhere. In the days leading up to the Crop Over culmination, Trinidadian promoters staged some of their popular fetes on the island. Beach House Entertainment, in collaboration with the band Baje International, put on the first Beach House Barbados in Bathsheba on Thursday. Scorch staged a boat ride aboard the Jolly Roger and a breakfast party the next morning, while Julius Caesar Entertainment held its popular Ambush party. On Sunday night, T&T acts dominated the Cohobblopot show, an annual concert celebrating the best in Bajan and regional talent. Patrice Roberts, Denise “Saucy Wow” Belfon, David Rudder and Bunji Garlin, Fay Ann Lyons and the Asylum Band, in their first ever Cohobblopot performance, hyped up the mostly Bajan crowd with their collective hits. Earlier in the week, Machel Montano and Destra Garcia were among those who performed at various shows.
Montano returned to the island on Sunday in time to hit the road for the Grand Kadooment parade. He played with Lucky Horseshoe Jump Promoters, one of the biggest bands on the road yesterday with a 1200 strong contingent of masqueraders portraying the theme Save We. Power by Four, a long time Bajan band, of which Legacy’s Big Mike has been involved for years, was the largest band of the 26 that crossed the national stadium stage with 1,500 masqueraders under the theme A Barrel of Fun 310. Big Mike led the charge for each section that crossed before the judges, a standout in body paint. Baje International and Zulu International, two of the newest bands for Crop Over, both had Trinidadians on their committees. Singer Rihanna, who played with Baje in previous years, was reportedly part of the Zulu band this year.
The presence of the Bajan pop star caused a stir on the island as everyone kept hoping for a sighting. She was captured on the streets of Bridgetown on Saturday morning participating in the Fore Day Morning (J’Ouvert) jam clad in a white-and-silver monokini and sneakers. This year’s Fore Day Morning was said to be the biggest in the event’s history, with the number of bands on the road growing from 22 to 36. The steelpan events have also grown, with attendance at the flagship Pan Pun the Sand event growing from 10,000 to more than 14,000. Next year’s Crop Over is expected to be even larger, as the festival celebrates its 40th anniversary.