The semifinals of the Soca Monarch competition have returned to Vincymas and will be held on Sunday at the tarmac of the decommissioned ET Joshua Airport.
Rodney Small, CEO of the Carnival Development Corporation, stated that the venue will be transformed into a beach setting for the event, but declined to provide details to maintain suspense.
He noted that the event will be dubbed “Bacchanal Bay”, adding that people have noted that there is no beach at the venue.
“But, as creatives, we will tell you that there will be a bay,” Small said and urged the public to support the artistes, noting that over 100 people entered the competition, which is held in two categories: soca and ragga soca.
He noted that 40 artistes will compete in the semi-finals — 20 in soca and 20 in ragga soca, adding, “And we’re starting this event at 2 p.m. and it’s going to be a beach, cooler, fete kind of activity.”
Asked whether the “beach” would be white or black sand, Small said, “You will find out when you get there. But book it and sure, there would be a beach,” he said.
“And when I say beach, you’re going to come and witness the beach, you’re going to come and be on the beach and you’re going to come and be a part of the beach activities, because we also have [games for adults], and we have beach activities that person can look forward to.”
He said that the event is not just about the competition or the content on stage.
“… it’s about the holistic experience that we would want you to have. So 2 p.m., come out for beach activity, and then we activate the stage from 4 p.m. at ET Joshua tarmac at Bacchanal Bay,” Small said.
He noted that the semi-finals will decide the artistes who will make it to “the big bad Soca Monarch”, slated for July 8 at Victoria Park.
“We’re putting a lot of energy into Soca Monarch. Soca Monarch is the Super Bowl event for Soca. That’s how I see it. And I know a lot of persons are looking forward to it,” Small said.
“I am also happy with some of the content that we have in terms of music. We have some work to do with our artists in terms of preparing them for performances, and we will get that done. But we also want to include the crews. We want to give them a sense of belonging.
“Because, I mean, that is where Soca Monarch is coming from. So we’re also going to look into meeting with the crews and making sure that they could get to Victoria Park.”
I’m totally impressed. Kudos to SVG. Congratulations are in order to the young graduates, may you lives be filled with successes. Keep up the good work.