Carnival holidays to be replaced by August 3 and 4

The Carnival holidays, which were scheduled for July 6 and 7, will this year be replaced by August 3 and 4.

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said on We FM yesterday that the decision to move the holidays to the August dates was made in Cabinet on Wednesday.

He said according to the Public Holidays Act, “you can change dates and you can add to but you can’t delete the holidays, so what we are going to do, we’re going to give Carnival Monday and Tuesday; we’re going to give those days on the third and fourth of August”.

These consecutive holidays will be two days after the Emancipation Day holiday, which is celebrated every year on August 1.

This year, August 1 falls on a Saturday.

SVG joined several other Caribbean countries at the beginning of April when the decision was made to cancel carnival. The decision was made by Cabinet, following a recommendation by the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) to do so.

Gonsalves, on April 2, said that the CDC gave several reasons for cancelling the event, among them the effect of the COVID-19 economic fallout on the spending power of potential revellers and sponsors; the difficulty sourcing materials in a timely manner; and the appearance of insensitivity to the plight of others affected by COVID-19 had we proceeded to play mas and party.

The prime minister noted however that there was a possibility of a summer festival in August over a five-day period, depending on how circumstances evolved.

And he said it would be a good way of releasing frustrations once the pandemic passes.

Gonsalves made a similar statement on radio yesterday when he announced the new holiday dates.

“Hopefully by then, people will want a night to release from the COVID pressures. So we’ll see how it goes. Remember we are in uncharted territory and we have to do the best we can and sort it out with some rationale,” he said.