The Junior Calypso Monarch Competition got underway on Saturday at the St Ignatius Sport Club Ground as part of Region Nine’s roster of events for this year’s Mashramani celebrations.
A Government Information Agency (GINA) press release said Mash Co-ordinator Lennox Canterbury said 12 contenders from Regions Four, Five, Nine and Ten will be vying for the crown at this competition.
GINA said Mark ‘Mighty Adviser’ Batson copped the first prize last year with his witty and dramatic Kaiso “True Identity”.
At the senior level reigning calypso monarch Malcolm ‘Lord Canary’ Corrica will be defending his throne with his composition “Let’s get serious” at the finals slated for the National Park on February 17. Lord Canary said the song will send a message of hope in the midst of the trials encountered in everyday society. He also said that he has entered the special segment of the competition on HIV/AIDS with a song called “Abstinence” to remind the public of the deadly infection and encourage them to make safe and healthy choices. Lord Canary said he is excited about the competition as legends like Bill Rogers, Black Hat, Calypso Sheila and Winfield James would be returning to challenge him this year.
Topco Juices has sponsored the junior competition for years and it is also likely to draw the attention of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). GINA said talks are ongoing with the government and the two entities to make this a reality. Culture Minister Dr Frank Anthony said UNICEF would be using the event to spread the message of safeguarding children. He said this venture would coincide with their recently launched report on youths and violence. The Region Nine Information Officer Terrence Boston said the Mashramani Committee on Wednesday met to plan a week of activities for the Upper Takatu/Upper Essequibo celebrations. In a press release, Boston said after the calypso finals in the park the region’s festivities will begin on February 18 and the various church bodies in the region have “dedicated the week’s activities in their sermon that Sunday.” This will be followed by an HIV/AIDS Awareness activity on the nineteenth and a school rally on the twentieth. An environmental clean-up day is billed for the twenty-first followed by bingo and a culture show, which will precede the Flag Raising Ceremony planned for midnight on February 22.
The roster also includes a Costume tramp for February 23 where all government and non-government organisations are expected to participate. A market day and a sport day, to be hosted at the Tabatinga Sports Ground, are expected to conclude the celebrations on the twenty-fourth. The meeting was held at the Lethem Administrative Centre.
