Organisers surprised at massive Park crowd

With the Scotiabank Uncle Skinny’s Kids Carnival being declared a huge success, organisers of the event are already going back to the drawing board{{more}} to map out plans for a bigger and better event come next year.

On Sunday, June 19, thousands flocked to a wet and muddy Victoria Park to witness a show like no other ever seen in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The show was the brain child of reigning Soca Monarch, Gamal ‘Skinny Fabulous’ Doyle and Karen Veira, who both agreed that they did not expect the massive turnout at Sunday’s event, especially since the show had to be pushed back from its

original date of June 18, because of heavy showers of rain.

Veira told SEARCHLIGHT, in an interview yesterday, they knew that it was going to be a big show, but because of the inclement weather, never envisaged it would have been such a success on Sunday.

Veira added that for next year’s event, they are looking to adding more activities to the show’s line up. “We want to add more

face painting booths, more dips and rides for the

kids.” She further added that the feedback from the show has been tremendous and persons are greatly anticipating next year’s event.

Doyle, on the other hand, echoed the sentiments of his business partner. He said the hype leading up to the show was tremendous, but he never thought they would have had such a massive turnout at the event.

“We really underestimated the number of persons who would have attended the show. I’m very pleased with the turn out yesterday,” Doyle remarked.

Doyle said preparation for the event started way back in November 2010, and included a lot of careful planning and co-ordination. He said much of the material for certain activities had to be brought in from overseas, which required a great deal of finance.

Describing the feeling of interacting with the children, Doyle said: “It was a very heart warming feeling… I turned into every child’s uncle on that day; Everywhere I went, I heard “Uncle Skinny”. I couldn’t even get from one part of the Park to the next without the kids wanting to take a photo,” quipped Uncle Skinny.

Reflecting on the event, Doyle said the show was basically a “pilot” project. He noted that their biggest hiccups were staffing and logistical issues. “Next year, we hope to improve on these and other issues, such as security and entrance and exit points,” Doyle added.

He said they would also be looking to start the show at an earlier time and at a bigger venue, with more added attractions. “We never anticipated that Victoria Park would have been too small; we want to double up on what we offer, so we are looking into using a bigger venue,” Doyle stated.

The dynamic team of Veira and Doyle thanked their sponsors, Scotiabank, for sharing their vision, SEARCHLIGHT, Digicel, Dekie’s Autozone, Singer, Hot 97fm and Jenors Company. Doyle also thanked his manager Andre Bradshaw, Alex Barnwell and Chesley Charles. (KW)