On Ash Wednesday, the tradition is to set aside the excesses of the flesh enshrined in the bacchanalia of Carnival Tuesday to embrace the contemplation and reflection of the Lenten season.
With no slight meant to the deeply religious, it also seems an appropriate time for the leadership of Carnival, specifically theMinistry of Arts and Multiculturalism, the National Carnival Commission and the stakeholder memberships of the NCBA, TUCO and Pan Trinbago to commit to wide-ranging public consultations on the critical issues that arose during Carnival 2014.
While there were consultations after the 2013 edition of the festival, they were talkshops in which the same people complained about the same things with–it has become clear–the same results.The challenges of the parade route, the faltering state of traditional calypso, the fragility of traditional Carnival art forms and the need to return the steelband to relevance in the festival can no longer be treated as matters that will be resolved solely with the creative capacity that exists within those organisations.
http://www.guardian.co.tt/digital/new-members