Saint Lucia Carnival events leading up to Parade of Bands successfully, says Tourism Minister Hilaire

Castries, Saint Lucia: Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information Ernest Hilaire, has expressed pleasure at the success of national carnival events leading up to the Parade of the Bands.

“So far we have had a wonderful season. The national events which took place from last weekend—King and Queen of the Bands, Calypso finals, Panorama, and the National Queen Show—were outstanding successes. Attendance has been excellent. We are now heading to the final stretch which starts with the three big shows Euphoria, Colour Me Red, and Famaly.”

As part of the calendar of events for Saint Lucia Carnival, Export the Runway was a first of its kind fashion event that highlighted over 20 Saint Lucian designers as well as local models, artists and dancers.

Many new designers as well as established designers were given the opportunity to showcase their work to Saint Lucia and by extension, the world.

Dr Hilaire stated, “Like I said in my remarks last evening, I look forward to seeing this event of world class calibre in the next four years. It was refreshing to see the work of so many talented Saint Lucians.”

The event was organised by Export Saint Lucia with the support of the Government of Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority and Ministry of Tourism.

Minister Hilaire cautioned Saint Lucians to be safe, and adhere to COVID-19 protocols.

“The Government has really made an effort to ensure that we have carnival this year. It has been two difficult years and finally we are getting a chance to return to a sense of normalcy. Of course we must remind everyone to be safe, to wear your masks, to sanitize as much as you can.

COVID-19 is still a reality and even if we have relaxed the protocols to allow people to enjoy carnival, we still want everyone to recognize that it is their personal responsibility to protect themselves and to follow the protocols.

“We know that after the season, more than likely there will be an increase in cases as it is the nature of the virus and the nature of mass crowd events. Please let us try to minimize the effects, prepare ourselves for any eventuality, and accept personal responsibility.”

Tonight a young band, Invasion, makes its debut on the big stage, the biggest of all, Colour Me Red. They are sounding sweet and in sync. Good luck to them in the future, as per Ernest Hilaire.