The adults behind the children at Kiddies Carnival.

Photos: Kwynn Johnson — Carnival Institute of T&T

Does anyone actually listen to pan in the North Stand?

Big noise, big trucks, big bucks.

The Carnival Institute of T&T plans to formally open its third edition of Reflections on Carnival on May 17. The event is scheduled to take place at the Community Development Centre, La Fantasie Road, St Ann’s.

Its planned agenda includes a two-day seminar and the launch of the Institute’s Carnival Memories Hotline, which will spearhead the archiving of the oral history from the public. There will also be a multimedia exhibition and presentation of the institute’s awards.

An exhibition of 2006 Carnival costumes will run over the course of the event, open daily from 9 am to 3 pm, with no admission fee.

“This seminar seeks to address the most critical issues surrounding Carnival in each of the disciplines,” the institute said in a press release.

“The Carnival Institute, which is an arm of the National Carnival Commission, is headed by Dr Pat Bishop. This year she has invited a full palette of speakers” to present on various topics. These include sampling, the venue for Carnival 2K7 and the adults behind children’s Carnival. (See sidebar for full list of topics.)

“Some of the topics will undoubtedly address the ways in which the festival and the society seem to have become more commercialised. This increased commercialisation has generated an upsurge in business opportunities and entrepreneurs have seized the opportunities in various elements of the festival to develop viable businesses.

“Moreover, the seminar will be addressing the ways in which Carnival has evolved in response to economics, technology and the tastes and preferences of younger generations. Additionally, advertising and brand promotion have become an integral and perhaps an indispensable part of the festival.”

The release continued, “Such topics as ‘Made in China: Bikini Mas’ will look at the view of the modern band leader’s primary goal in winning market share by franchising, outsourcing, Internet marketing, branding and creating an all-inclusive product.”

Two discussions will centre on calypso’s status and feasibility; another will look at “the wide-ranging effects of the micro-electronics revolution whereby modern digital technology has transformed the music. This has resulted in the proliferation of DJ systems as the principal musical accompaniment on the road at Carnival.”

The institute, the release said, “is not allowing Carnival to come and go each year without sensitising our minds to the underlying issues, uncertainties and evolutions. This not only addresses its sustainability but validates the festival on a new level. The thematically connected exhibition and seminar will connect and depart from Carnival 2006.”

There will be an open microphone session after each presentation.

Reflections on Carnival 2K6 Seminar topics

May 19 (7- 9 pm)

1. Sampling

2. C2K6 Panorama: The track at Panorama—is the rehearsal the show?

Sound: music or noise?

North Stand: No one’s listening

May 20 (10 am - 4 pm)

1. Made in China—bikini mas

2. Big noise, big trucks, big bucks

3. The age of the formula—pan, soca, costumes and fetes

4. Carnival 2K7: where and how will it happen?

5. Carnival—a medium for advertising

6. The adults behind the children—fantasy suppressed (calypso and costumes)

7. Chutney and chutney tents

8. Tassa in Carnival

9. Regional Carnival

10. Calypso tents

11. The return of Minshall

12. The state of Carnival monarchy

13. C2K6 through the eyes of the media

14. Carnival the universal phenomenon