Play it safe for Vincy Mas

Fri July 5, 2013

As we head into the climax of the “Hottest Carnival in the Caribbean”, SEARCHLIGHT extends a warm welcome to our visitors and wishes all participants and spectators an enjoyable season.{{more}}

We encourage everyone to play it safe and exercise the precautions one normally would when in one’s home country or at other times of the year. No matter how relaxed the atmosphere, or one’s mood, common sense should always prevail. In today’s edition of SEARCHLIGHT, we carry on pages 29 and 30, as a timely reminder, security and food safety tips from the police and public health department respectively.

This year’s festival has not been without its challenges for the organizers. From the time Vincy Mas was launched, one of the platinum sponsors protested that the Carnival Development Corporation was not honoring the exclusivity terms of its sponsorship contract. Last Saturday, despite the popular claim that no rain could stop the carnival, mother nature showed who is in charge and forced the postponement of junior carnival. We now have one of the participants of the soca monarch competition pulling out, claiming that the competition is rigged in favour of some of the big names. Although we tend to dismiss such claims as being part and parcel of the controversy, which tends to occur at this time, stakeholders’ concerns should never be brushed aside, but in all cases, thoroughly investigated and dealt with, in the interest of fair play and of the festival. Without the sponsors, without the artistes, we are left with nothing.

Vincy Mas has a reputation of being a safe festival and we want to keep it that way. The Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, has over the years, been excellent in their deployment and vigilance at this time. We give them our full support and encourage the cooperation of all.

Happy Carnival to everyone. Remember, play it safe!