VincyMas 2025 is over

The near two weeks of revelry this year was much anticipated by many given the truncated programme in 2024 due to the havoc wrought by Hurricane Beryl in the southern Grenadines. The visitors and returning Vincentians came, enjoyed themselves, and most have already returned home.

The new CEO of the Carnival Development Corporation, Rodney Small and his team, promised innovation, and they were not afraid to try something different- new venues other than Victoria Park for some of the events, different start times for junior shows being among them. The feedback so far seem to suggest that patrons were generally pleased with this year’s festival; but it should not be assumed that one should not seek for areas where things may not have gone too well. The use of the Cruise Ship Berth for the calypso semi-final for instance, has not found favour with some calypso aficionados; nor has the the later start to the Junior Calypso and Soca shows, that may have given more patrons time to attend and support the juniors, but resulted in a later finish and youngsters being on the road at later hours. Change however, is inevitable, and is often resisted but criticism must not simply be brushed aside. Carnival as known by the faithful patrons, hundreds of whom up to more contemporary times, flocked to the tents and Victoria Park for the big weekend of events leading to the culmination with the parade of costumed bands at Mardi Gras, has been forced to increasingly make space for private events- and masqueraders in ‘skimpy’ outfits on the roads on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. It is clear that a sizeable segment of patrons care very little for traditional Carnival activities, but this is to the benefit of event organisers. The attempt by the CDC to seek a blend of the two must be commended. Ultimately, some of the money spent at these events is diffused into the wider economy, and that is a plus overall.

However, there must be an intentional intervention by stakeholders, including at the Ministry of Tourism and Culture with the strong input of mas tents, to propagate the art of costume design and construction so as not to lose these skills altogether. After years in decline, the pan sides continue to show growth, which is an indication that their youth programmes are paying dividends. Can there be something similar with respect to Mas even with the perennial complaint of lack of production space?

We must again commend our Sanitation workers for the prompt attention paid to getting Kingstown back into a state of cleanliness after each Carnival event; similar attention needs to be paid by those responsible for getting tarmac at the decommissioned E.T Joshua Airport back into a state of cleanliness as well; it should not be a holding place for carnival derelicts.

The police have reported a relatively peaceful VincyMas 2025, and that is welcome news. Our Police Officers are increasingly called upon to deal with situations which, hitherto, we only read about or viewed as taking place outside of our shores. Too often, irresponsible persons have used the cover of the carnival festivities to settle scores and create violence; long may this peace reign.

Small and his new team promised a restructuring of VincyMas, with innovations; they have begun to do some things differently. The question is- what’s next? It is now required that the administrators and active participants of VincyMas- in Mas, Calypso, Pan, and organisers of associated events sit down and review the outcomes of the festival and assess the impact of VincyMas 2025 as they prepare to promote the 2026 festivities and make changes that will be to the benefit of all stakeholders, and of course, patrons.