Parade of Floats now September 23

The Steelfestt Parade of Floats around the Queen’s Park Savannah will now take place on September 23 at 4 pm. The parade of floats was scheduled to take place on August 20, but as a result of a request by the Ministry of National Security to make the event more spectacular with the marching bands of the protective services, Pan Trinbago has acceded to the request. Meanwhile, Pan Trinbago’s president Keith Diaz told Pan Buzz the organisation was still waiting for funding from the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism following proposals submitted since last year.

He said Pan Trinbago is also waiting for funding from the National Carnival Commission (NCC). The Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development has already given Pan Trinbago some funding, and sponsors have come on board to help stage the event, which is part of the celebrations for the country’s Golden Jubilee of Independence. The initial project should have featured 25 floats, but has been scaled back to 15. Designs which will feature some aspects of life in T&T, the steelpan, flora and fauna and industrialisation, were unveiled recently. Some designers taking part in the project are Geraldo Viera, Burt Marcellin, Gillian Bishop, Roger Myers and Stephen Derrick.

The Steelfestt Parade of Floats was first scheduled to take place in May during the Steelfestt global conference, but was pushed back to August 20. Meanwhile, Pan Trinbago is pushing its projects on different fronts. One such project is the Pan In the Classroom, and the other is the accreditation for pan tuners. Diaz told Pan Buzz that the Pan in the Classroom will be expanded to include 20 more schools. He said more teachers will be coming on board as the programme seeks to go into the primary school system. He was in high praise for the music teachers and the ones who designed the programmes.

Diaz said there were already 36 teachers in the project, many of them qualified. He said come September a new format will go into effect, as not only pan will be taught in schools but conventional instruments as well. However, he said Pan Trinbago will be working feverishly to get pan tuners certified. He said plans are already in train. It was revealed at the Steelfestt Conference in May that universities and colleges are calling for pan tuners to be certified.

Bertie is home 

In other pan-related news, pan icon Bertie Marshall has been released from hospital. Marshall, a diabetic, had problems controlling his blood sugar level. His care-giver Courtney Goodridge told Pan Buzz Marshall is a bit weak, but will improve in the days ahead. Meanwhile, Steelband Month continues with youths taking the spotlight tomorrow at the Grand Stand, Queen's Park Savannah, Port-of- Spain. Junior bands will participate in a youth rally.