New venue for breakfast party as court denies liquor licence

For the first time in almost 20 years, the D’Original Vale Breakfast Party will not be held at Amethyst Avenue in Diamond Vale this year. Organisers of the popular Carnival fete yesterday had to make last-minute arrangements for a new venue, after the appeal of their liquor licence was dismissed. 

Diamond Vale resident Anthony Young, who hosts the party, declined to reveal the new venue, when asked by reporters after the appeal was dismissed at the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain. Instead, Young suggested that the 2,800 people who bought tickets for the event, which is scheduled for Carnival Sunday morning, contact him and other organisers to find out the new location. 

In dismissing the appeal yesterday, Appeal Court judges Allan Mendonca and Nolan Bereaux ruled that the Licensing Committee for St George West was not “plainly wrong” to deny the licence for the party. The judges said the committee had the duty to balance the rights of the fete promoter with the rights of residents to enjoy and have free access to their properties. 

On Tuesday, head of the committee and Senior Magistrate at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court Annette Mc Kenzie dismissed the application for the occasional licence after she deemed the location unsuitable. The committee’s decision was influenced by a complaint received from resident Lisa Maillard, who lives five houses away from where the party is traditionally held. 

Maillard said as a result of the party, she and other residents were unable to access their homes, and the noise from the fete was unusually loud, as it caused the louvres at her house to rattle for almost eight hours. After the result of the appeal, Maillard said she was happy and the result signifed a victory for residents who had been unhappy about the party for several years but were unable to stop it. 

During yesterday’s hearing, Young’s attorney Keith Scotland pleaded with the judges to reverse the decision. “They plan to play soca music for eight hours on Carnival Sunday. It is not Christmas Day or Good Friday we are talking about. It’s Carnival,” Scotland said.