Renegades Senior Members Carnival
Prize-Giving Ceremony
Pedro Montanez (R) receives the first place trophy for Steelband and Mas
Large Band category on behalf of Exodus from Michael Marcano
TrinbagoPan.com Reporters
Event Date: May 26, 2007
Posted: June 03, 2007
Eighteen years ago, in an effort to bring Carnival bands to parade in east Port of Spain (Charlotte Street in particular), the senior members of the Charlotte Street Renegades Steel Orchestra decided to host its own Carnival competition. The judging point for this competition, located opposite the pan yard on Charlotte Street, is still where bands are judged today. On 26th May 2007, they held the 17th annual Mini Carnival prize-giving function at the pan yard on Charlotte Street.
Mr. Stephen Fletcher, chairman of the Renegades Entertainment Committee said this idea started in collaboration with deceased PNM Member of Parliament, Mr. Morris Marshall. Mr. Marshall and five senior members of Renegades got together eighteen years ago on Ash Wednesday and decided that they should bring back mas 'behind the bridge'. According to Mr. Fletcher, after his guidance for the first year, Mr. Marshall left it up to the Renegades Entertainment Committee to continue hosting this competition. Mr. Fletcher said that they continue to do a 'lot of begging' for sponsorship of the trophies, but this year, he noted, the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs also donated some of the cash prizes.
Now that the competition has been established, most of the bands participate in the Carnival Tuesday competition. In fact, Upper Charlotte Street has been sanctioned by the National Carnival Commission and the National Carnival Bandleaders Association as part of the annual Carnival parade route. Mr. Fletcher stated that he would like the competition to continue to grow, and hoped that those who have assisted over the years continue to sponsor the competition.
The programme, originally slated to start at 7 p.m. started at 8.30 p.m. Mr. Romany did the invocation and Mr. Anthony Mc Quilkin, although at first reluctant, was the MC for the night and did a good job at that.
In his welcome address, Mr. Michael Marcano, senior member of the Renegades Entertainment Committee, emphasized that Renegades was one of the longest surviving Steelbands in Trinidad and Tobago. He said that they, the senior members, needed to keep the history of the Steelband alive. Thankfully, he stated, gone are the days of pelting iron bolts at pan rivals which have now been replaced with the fostering of cordial relationships among pan men and women of different bands. He was also thankful for all of Renegades achievements and stressed that it was indeed a community effort that has made the band successful.
Marcano further emphasized that it was the need to bring mas back to east Port of Spain that was the catalyst for this competition. "The value of pan is lost to many," said Mr. Marcano. However, he commended the Renegades youth for keeping out of jail and praised the fact that no police officers are, "...knocking on their parents' doors." This, he said, "...is due to the work that the Renegades panside put into the youth of the band."
Mr. Michael 'Protector' Leggerton, president of TUCO, also addressed the audience. He said that TUCO was forming strategic alliances between Pan, Calypso and Mas. He said that even though Trinidad and Tobago is on the world stage, we are not contesting it. He spoke about his recent visit to China where he observed that on Chinese television they celebrated Chinese culture all day, every day. He ended by reiterating the position that culture and sport have to be the keys to the development of the youth in Trinidad and Tobago.
Just before the entertainment, Councillor Janice Wallace-Henry offered her congratulations to the band on behalf of MP Eulalie James who was regrettably absent for the evening.
The evening's entertainment was provided by Shirlane Hendrickson, Anthony 'All Rounder' Hendrickson, Mrs. Diane 'Lady Wonder' Hendrickson-Jones, Sherma 'Shy' Coar Edwards and Dennis 'Lasana' Cox. They were all well-received by the audience, so much so that members joined Shirlane Hendrickson and Anthony 'All Rounder' Hendrickson on stage during their performance.
After the wonderful entertainment, the first, second and third place prizes were presented in the following categories: Large, Medium and Small bands; Large and Small Steelband and Mas bands. The Renegades Senior members 2007 Carnival results are as follows:
Large bands
1st / Macfarlane Carnival / 'India - The Story of Boyie'
2nd / Legacy / 'Hiawatha'
3rd / Pulse 8 / 'Cocktails, You Shake We Stir'
Medium bands
1st / Patrick Wallace and Image Nation / 'Jungle'
2nd / Trevor Wallace / 'On the Catwalk'
3rd / Masqurade / 'Golden Heritage - A Tribute to Mas'
Small bands
1st / Stephen Derek / 'D'Midas'
2nd / Astil Alleyne / 'Tribal Connection'
3rd / Churchill George / 'De Boss'
Steelband and Mas - Large
1st / Sagicor Exodus / 'Sailors Off Shore'
2nd / Neal and Massy All Stars / 'Fleets In'
3rd / Sound Specialist of Laventille
Steelband and Mas - Small
1st / Blue Diamonds / 'Festival Of Lights'
2nd / Rhapsody / 'Sailors in Paradise'
3rd / Harlem Syncopators / 'A Sailor Is a Sailor'
Tokens of appreciation were also presented to the judges, assistants, contributors and the Renegades Youth Player of the Year, Winnesha Wilson.
After closing remarks were given by Mr. Courtney, senior member of the Renegades Entertainment Committee, the evening ended with the sounds of Calypso and Pan provided by DJ Derek as all mingled and ate 'pelau' that was prepared in the Renegades Charlotte Street pan yard itself.
Renegades Senior Members Carnival Prize-giving 2007 in pictures:
www.trinbagopan.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=18540
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