The Miss Carival show will remain off the Vincy Mas 2018 calendar for a second year as carnival planners continue to try to determine what to do with the beauty pageant, which had been losing money for years.
The regional beauty pageant, which ran for 31 years, was not included on the calendar last year, when Vincy Mas celebrated 40 years of being moved from a pre-Lenten to a summer festival.
The Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) says that the show was expensive, costing as much as EC$100,000 to produce, with little returns.
Last year, the Miss Carival slot was filled by a show called Evo 4.0, which celebrated the various components of Vincy Mas over the last 40 years.
“And we think that that show, at this point in time, has an opportunity to really grow and provide almost the concept of a Soca Monarch for the more mature crowd because that show encapsulates Vincy Mas over the 40 years,” Ricardo “Ricky” Adams, who is into his second year as chair of the CDC, told iWitness News.
“We’re looking at the Miss Carival, we are looking at the question of if we bring it back, how do we bring it back to make it more appealing not only to the local Vincentian public but to the international audience at large.
“And so it is still under review and we are not even sure that in the carnival period is the best place to bring it back. So we are still looking at it and playing with it,” Adams said.
He said that for now, the CDC is “really happy” with what happened with Evo 4.0 and is organising Evo 4.1 this year.
The CDC boss said that the show will continue to showcase “the entire culture of Vincy Mas.
“Vincy Mas, as a brand, really, is the one that came into being after the change to the summer festival. So we think it is a really excellent opportunity for us to do basically the incorporation of all of the types of music, the genres that have happened over the last 40 years.”
Asked if the CDC has considered franchising the Miss Carival show, Adams told iWitness News, “We are actually looking at all the options. We are looking at the concept of franchising, we are looking at the concept of how we can make it an international streaming event, we’re looking at the concept of if it is possible to regionalise the show and actually move it around. So we are investigating all of the options and as you recognise, it is not just something you just jump into. It requires some thought and some study.”
The last person to be crowned Miss Carival, was Miss Trinidad, Djennicia Francis, who defeated nine other contestants to take the 2016 crown.
Good move by the CDC, at least for now. Ms. Carival really needs reviving.
Evo 4.0 was really a successful and grown-folks event. However, with the legacy of Ms. Carival, I do hope that the CDC can go back to the drawing board and find a way to bring back the region’s top Beauty Pageant.
The whole of the Vincy mas, Carnival should be reorganized and renamed as an Arts and culture summer festival with a parade at the end. Then focus on celebrating our arts and culture. Invite big-name performers to attract visitors. Instead of a drink and jump up opportunity for the locals which is what it is now.