With five months still to go, Randy Glasgow is one events promoter who is ready for Carnival 2015. The big boss of Randy Glasgow Productions (RGP) told Pulse this week: “I am not joking next year. I have secured the services of some heavyweight sponsors for my events in 2015, including Super Industrial Services Limited (SIS) and Angostura, and this has allowed me to have everything on ready for the shows.”
One of the more lucrative signings Glasgow has had is with SIS which is sponsoring a “gift” of $50,000 to the largest and most impressive single group of patrons attending next year’s Chutney Brass at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre, scheduled for Saturday, February 7. The Biggest Lime competition is open to all patrons attending the event in a group of over 100 people.
Glasgow said this week: “Over the years Chutney Brass has seen groups of friends and families attending wearing either T-shirts of the same colour and or with personalised designs on them. We decided from next year to foster and encourage this display of unity and pure enjoyment by offering a reward to the biggest, best co-ordinated and most exciting lime at the event.
“We are looking to encourage patrons coming from across the island to represent their communities, cricket, football and other sporting organisations, youth groups, UTT, UWI. We are also encouraging those folks coming in from other countries such as Guyana, Suriname, Canada, United States, London to make their ‘Big Limes’. They can hopefully be the group that returns home with that extra $50K in their pockets.
“With the general elections taking place next year some people who heard of the plans for the competition have already indicated to RGP that they and their big limes will be donning T-shirts bearing their choice of candidates from the various political parties and for their respective constituencies. RGP welcomes this as long as it is all done in the spirit of good fun and with mutual respect towards one another at the event,” Glasgow said.
Next year will see more than ten chutney bands, an international guest band, over 20 chutney artistes, top chutney DJ's along with dance troupes, comedians and more taking the stage at Chutney Brass.
The other exciting development for RGP is that rum giant Angostura Ltd has signed on one of their leading brands (White Oak Rum) as a major sponsor for three big Carnival events next year and in 2016. The official signing took place last month at Angostura headquarters, Eastern Main Road, Laventille.
Angostura senior marketing officer, Ricardo Bideshi signed on behalf of his company, while Glasgow did the honours for RGP.
The two-year deal made White Oak Rum the official rum and gave Angostura's subsidiary company (Servic Ltd) exclusive pouring rights for Ladies Night Out—International Edition (Hasely Crawford Stadium, on Friday, January 30); brand new Sunbern Festival, featuring 15 soca and chutney bands on Sunday, February 14, at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre; and, SIS Chutney Brass.
Special invited guests at the signing were entertainers Nadia Batson, Raymond Ramnarine, KI Persad, NCC CEO Michael Guyadeen, and Lonsdale Advertising CEO Ken Attale, Angostura's Giselle La Ronde-West, Romesh Singh, Andy Vieira, Keiron Gomez and Dale Garraway also participated in official signing.
Angostura has been a long-standing supporter and sponsor of RGP events spanning 12 years.
Mas goes along the Mohawk
Along the Mohawk will be the 36th mas presentation of Lionel Jagessar & Associates (LJA) come Carnival 2015. The celebrated southern mas man will launch his band on the night of Saturday, September 27, at Space la Nouba, South Trunk Road, La Romaine.
This week Jagessar said: “Our organisation is family run, owned and operated on the premise of providing customers with the most affordable and beautiful product. In addition to our Carnival band on the road we design and produce costumes and products for other groups, schools and bands for Carnival day and other types of costumed events and parades.” Over the Independence long weekend, Jagessar’s beautiful native American Indian characters were seen in the north at Pan on the Avenue and at Carib Woodbrook Playboyz Independence Day lime LJA has produced and displayed costumes and even done performances internationally as well most recently in Zimbabwe and BVI, and previously in Germany, many other Caribbean islands.
Jagessar said: “We have even won Band of the Year for the West Indian day parade in New York.”
LJA holds many prestigious titles, the most notable being the Humming Bird (Silver) national award, presented to Jagessar in 1999, for his service to culture. Other titles include, Band of the Year (Large) in San Fernando; multiple San Fernando Queen and King of Carnival titles; and 14 Individual of the Year titles.
“We were the first competing in a traditional Native American costume, to win the National Queen of Carnival title on Dimanche Gras night at the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain,” Jagessar said. “We hold fast to traditional costumes, fancy Native American to be precise and, not forgetting our roots, we also produce modern costumes to cater to customer needs.”
Along The Mohawk will comprise of seven sections, with a minimum projected membership of 500 masqueraders.
Jagessar has several targets for LJA. He disclosed: “I want us to be the first band in San Fernando Carnival to be fully all-inclusive.”
Music at the launch will be by Karma.
Comedy for charity
Yangatang Comedy Tent will be presenting a special gift of entertainment and treats to children of the Princess Elizabeth Centre, Woodbrook, and the St Mary’s Children’s Home, Tacarigua, on September 28.
At the shows, the children and staff will be entertained by top comedic artistes along with extra surprises. They will enjoy performances from Tommy Joseph, Peter Joseph, Lady Aiesha, the Caribbean Maccometre Comedy Group, Princess Margaret and Gerard Weekes, Granny X and more.
The event at the Princess Elizabeth Centre begins at 1 pm and the other in Tacarigua is scheduled to start at 4 pm. At the end of the shows the children will all be treated to refreshments.
The management and staff of Princess Elizabeth Centre and the St Mary’s Children’s Home extended the opportunity for Yangatang to provide a day of fun and entertainment for the children.
