Trinidad and Tobago is the mother of Carnival; and ground zero for the greatest show on earth is the Queen’s Park Savannah.
The annual walk-through was completed on Friday as the grand undertaking of setting up the Savannah stage and other peripheral structures nears completion.
The Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Randall Mitchell, President of the National Carnival Commission, Keiba Jacob Mottley, and Chairman of the NCC, Winston “Gypsy” Peters were on site to the walk-through and inspection of the temporary structures erected annually for carnival in Port of Spain. Upon completion of the walk-through, Minister Mitchell commended the work done by the NCC.
“They’re really meticulously managing all the parts of carnival. As you look, you see that they’ve changed the Grand Stand. The Grand Stand has been refurbished, the VIP room is being refurbished, the North Stand has gone up a lot earlier and we were able to see the true power of Junior Panorama with the North Stand up. Both stands were filled to capacity. So, I mean kudos to the National Carnival Commission, they have been doing a very good job- very excellent job with the limited resources that they do have.”
According to the NCC Chairman, planning and preparation are year-round undertakings of the commission, with the setup of the savannah being a culmination of that planning process. He said along with upgrades to the venue and other essential work, more focus is being placed on security at the festival.
“We have had some additional security because you know that we live in a time when we have to be security conscious, and we are security conscious here at the National Carnival Commission. And it’s for the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago who are going to be here and the foreigners- the many, many foreigners.”
With T minus 17 days to carnival, Minister Mitchell shared his carnival message .
“Take the opportunity to fall in love with Trinbagonian culture, with our Carnival culture, with our cultural heritage. Come out, revel, release and do it safely.”