Nine Mornings a success, says Peters

Chairman of the SVG Nine Mornings Committee, Michael Peters says despite the crime situation in 2011, the annual festival drew a larger crowd than the year 2010.{{more}}

“We had a good year. It was much better than last year (2010). We even had a lot more participation in terms of villages. In fact, it was double the amount of 2010,” Peters told SEARCHLIGHT, in a brief interview earlier this week.

He reported that there was not a single incident during the festivities, and thanked persons who turned out each morning for making the event a peaceful one.

Peters said there was also a large number of new villages participating this year.

“This is definitely a good sign. We also had a lot of returning nationals and visitors, which makes the festivities even more enjoyable…,” Peters said.

Peters thanked persons overseas who spread the word about Nine Mornings, especially students at the University of the West Indies.

“UWI students really do a great job in promoting Nine Mornings and we see it from the amount of visitors coming in from across the region.”

For this year’s activities, Peters said they are continuously looking at ways to keep the public’s interest and keep the festival fresh.

He further thanked all the various committees, rural villages and various sponsors for their continued support.

For the Nine Mornings competitions, the Best Nine mornings community award went to Stubbs, with Carriere taking the second spot. Richland Park had to settle for third place, and Point Village rounded off the top four.

New Grounds was adjudged VINCLEC’s best lit community. Rose Bank came in second place and Point Village was third.

The Zonal Winners Community Lighting were: North/Central Leeward – Rose Bank, Kingstown – Sion Hill, North Windward – Point Village, South Windward/Marriaqua – New Grounds and Grenadines – Port Elizabeth, Bequia.

The Best Christmas Community award went to Dorestshire Hill; Richland Park edged their way to the second spot and Point Village and Stubbs took the third and fourth spots, respectively.

The Best Lit Garden award went to Ces for West – Arnos Vale, with Richmond Hill Gardens trailing.

Olivia DaSilva of Cane End won the Best Lit Private House category and Jimmy Samuel of Rillan Hill had to settle for second place.

The Most Popular Local Christmas Song went to Carlton ‘CP’ Hall, with his hit “Put Away”. Rolly Bowman rolled into the second spot with “Local for Christmas”; Strong came in at third position with “Stress Free Christmas” and Lennox Bowman took the fourth spot with “Enjoy Nine Mornings”.(KW)