Surfing T&T hosts first international surfing festival in over 10 years

This May, the Surfing Association of Trinidad & Tobago (Surfing T&T) will host its first international surfing event in over 10 years, and seeks to recapture the excitement and recognition of meets of the 90s.

This year's Surfing T&T International Surfing Festival, to be held 1–2 May 2010, will also be  the second official event of the nascent Western Atlantic Surf Series, based in the United States. Additionally, surfers will be able to gain points based on their performance in the Caribbean Waterman Challenge.

The planned week-long festival will combine competitions for individual surfers with a national team event. Beyond the competitions for surfing glory, there will also be countless events for beach-goers and surf-lovers: live music, a bikini competition, extreme sports demonstrations, food expos, and more.

For more information, visit the Surfing T&T website. You can also check out the video below of what they've been up to promoting T&T's surfing culture:

Lead Photo (top): surfing in Trinidad's northeast, captured by Stephen Broadbridge and published by Media & Editorial Projects Ltd (MEP) in Discover Trinidad & Tobago 

Beach cleanups at Trinidad's Matura Beach this weekend

Image via Wikipedia

It's almost turtle nesting season in Trinidad & Tobago (officially March-August, though some have already begun nesting), and Matura beach is among many of the north and east cost beaches that host these gargantuan animals in their annual ritual.

Nature Seekers, one of the accredited groups that hosts turtle-watching expeditions among its activities, is calling anyone interested to come along on a beach cleanup at Matura this Sunday 28 February.

The meeting place is at the quarter mile mark, Orosco Road, Toco Main Road in Matura, at 7am (through about 2pm). The group hopes to clean 4km of the 7km-long beach, removing debris and litter which has accumulated on the beach and could harm nesting animals and compromise turtle-watching – as well as generally being unsightly and unsanitary for beach-goers.

What's more, waste materials and glass collected during the exercise will, where possible, be recycled by local community groups into hand-made crafts.

For more on the beach cleanup (including what to bring and what to wear), visit the event page on Facebook.

Chaka Khan & Erykah Badu confirmed as headliners for Tobago Jazz

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

We told you last week we'd let you know as soon as the headliners were confirmed. And it's official: international Grammy-winning R&B sensations Chaka Khan and Erykah Badu are the international headliners of the Tobago Jazz Experience 2010.

Here's the exciting line-up for the four-day festival:

Thursday 22 April, 4:30pm: Jazz on de Waterfront (Milford Road Esplanade): local music acts head up this event, free and open to the public

Friday 23 April, 7:30pm: World Music Night at Pigeon Point Heritage Park, headlined by Erykah Badu, and featuring a host of local music stars – Tobago's native soca sensation Shurwayne Winchester & YOU; the popular Mavis John; soca chutney band Dil-E-Nadan; Ziggy Rankin;  Fire Empress; vintage calypsonian Lord Nelson; rapso band 3canal. Tickets TT$300

Saturday 24 April: brace yourself for an all-day, island-wide music extravaganza! Street Beat starts at 5am in Plymouth (free). Then Mt Irvine Bay hosts Jazz on de Beach (free). From 5pm, the Jazz in de East caravan hits Speyside (free). In time for sunset at Pigeon Point is Pan Jazz in de Park from 5pm (TT$200), featuring Desperados and Phase II Pan Groove steel orchestras from Trinidad, plus Tobago's own medium-band Panorama 2010 Champions, Steel Xplosion, among others.

Sunday 25 April: the festival culminates with the Beach Jazz Fiesta, featuring headliner Chaka Khan, with a cast of local stars including Etienne Charles; Elan Parle; the Alternative Quartet; the Sean Thomas Quartet; Clive Zanda; the Kariwak Players; and Digicel Rising Star Kay Alleyne. Tickets are TT$300.

Tickets go on sale on Monday 29 March in Tobago at all Penny Savers Supermarkets (Scarborough, Carnbee, Canaan), and in Trinidad at Cleves One Stop Shop; Crosby's (North and South); Sanch Electronics; and Stetchers nationwide.

For more, visit the official Tobago tourism website or call 868-639-2125.

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Monarchs: Soca & Kaiso

In case you missed the live Carnival TV coverage in Trinidad & Tobago, or couldn't (eh-hem) access CTNTworld.com's live stream, check out the winning performances from the year's reigning (Power) Soca Monarch and Calypso Monarch, courtesy SanMan_ish. You can also get a sense of the, um, "foreign celebrity" and "local presenter" parlance after the Palance...

Tobago Underwater Carnival - the new kid on the block

This June, the Tobago House of Assembly’s (THA) Tourism Division, the Tourism Development Company (TDC) and the Association of Tobago Dive Operators (ATDO) host the inaugural Tobago Underwater Carnival.

The event runs from 11 to 18 June, and features:

• Daily diving off the northern and southern parts of Tobago
• Amateur underwater photography contest with special prizes
• Seminars on photography; marine biology; equipment care; and fish identification
• Diving equipment demonstrations
• Intro diving classes
• Parties and Happy Hours
• Discounts on select land-based tours, bars and restaurants, and free dive equipment rental (for registered participants)
• Special dive packages (1-tank dive, 6-dive special, or 10-dive special)

Registration for the event is US$75.00. Check this space for more information as it becomes available!

For more on diving in Tobago:

• "Tobago: a Diving Mecca" - interview with ATDO's Derek Chung
• "Dive in" - an overview of what makes Tobago such a special dive location

And for more Tobago eco adventures, click here.

Lead photo (top): diver at Black Jack Hole near Speyside, by Jonathan Gomez, published by MEP in Discover Trinidad & Tobago

Tobago Jazz Experience 2010

After its successful debut year replacing the Plymouth Jazz Festival, the Tobago Jazz Experience returns this April for another roster of local, regional and international jazz and world music performances.

The festival kicks off with World Music Night on Friday 23 April at the Pigeon Point Heritage Park, with a special international mystery star.

On Saturday, the Jazz Caravan heads to north Tobago, while Beach Jazz rocks Mt Irvine. Both events are free. As night falls, local pannists take the spotlight with Pan Jazz in De Park.

On the final day, the festival culminates with the Beach Jazz Fiesta at the Pigeon Point Heritage Park from 4pm. The line-up will include both local and regional stars, plus – once again – a surprise international star.


Stay tuned for more information about tickets and other details as they become available.

Photo: Diana Ross at Tobago's Plymouth Jazz Festival, captured by Andrea De Silva and published by MEP in Discover Trinidad & Tobago 2008.

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T&T and Cuba to get additional air lift from Canada

Image via Wikipedia

Following expanded air services agreements, the Canadian government is increasing the air lift between Canada and the Caribbean, specifically Trinidad & Tobago and Cuba.

Transport Minister John Baird explained that: "over the past four years, we have worked to provide airlines with more flexibility to increase the number of convenient flights and cheaper fares to help travellers, businesses, shippers and the tourism industry."

WestJet and Sunwing, effective immediately, can begin to operate scheduled international air services between Canada and Caribbean destinations in Trinidad & Tobago and Cuba. A daily T&T service is set to begin in May of this year during peak seasons.


In the Caribbean, Barbados and the Dominican Republic have also benefitted from expanded service agreements over the last four years.

What Carnival Is?

Artist, researcher and cultural practitioner Pat Bishop discussed this question at the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago's (MATT) luncheon on Monday. Bishop was introduced by Judy Raymond (vice president of MATT, as well as editor of Caribbean Beat).

Bishop asserted that Carnival has to be written in big history, with no one person, clan, tribe or ethnicity being able to claim it: it is fundamental to the human condition. She argued that the headhunter in New Guinea is no different to the Hollywood star who paints her face with Max Factor, since it changes how she behaves and how she wants to be perceived; the ability to take the mask on and off allows you to become different people.

Bishop contended that, as we became more civilised, we used prayer, dance, theatre and music to approach that which we can't understand and that which keeps us alive. And as the global village swallows us, she posits, we risk being placed into boxes from which we can't expect to escape, since we are all afraid we'll lose our jobs if we speak out.

Rex Nettleford (who died on February 3 and who will be interred on Carnival Tuesday) on the other hand, spoke out for the Caribbean, as he recognised we are citizens of a wider world than we're prepared to acknowledge.

She reminisced how Nettleford commented at one time: "What a shame Trinidad has more dollars than cents (sense)". Instead, she said, we are very much part of a consumer world, ruled by "ah want, ah must have, you must gimme".

Today's Carnival resembles a Las Vegas show girl, according to Bishop, as we search for foreign validation. While she admits some of her concerns may simply be "of her generation", she agrees things change but at no point should Trinidadians and Tobagonians be factored out of the equation.

During the brief Q&A, Bishop, when asked her opinion on designers importing costumes from China and India, she said: "If you see Carnival as a business, go through hard, we may be poorer as for the state of our souls, but there are priests".

Photo: Former Miss Universe (1998) Wendy Fitzwilliam as captured by Martin Farinha and published by MEP in Discover Trinidad & Tobago 2010. 

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Discover T&T Open Call for Photographs

It's that time again! We're already planning ahead for our 20th anniversary edition of Discover Trinidad & Tobago in 2011!

As always, we invite all emerging and established photographers – both our regular contributors and those we've never worked with – to submit their photos to be considered for publication, so that we continue to have the best possible photos in the magazine!

Here's some more information on submitting your photos for possible consideration, and you can find even more on our Facebook Event Page.

SPECIFICATIONS
• Original photos must be at least 300dpi in their original form
• Colour-corrected photos labelled descriptively (e.g. ElTucuche.jpg, not IMG_012345.JPG), and/or accompanied by caption information are given priority consideration

SUBMISSION
• Submission is via email, by providing links to online portfolios or galleries, or by mailing/dropping off CDs.
• Deadline for submission is May 31, 2010.

PHOTO LIST (contact us for more details)
• Arts & Culture
• Festivals
• Food & Dining
• Landmarks & Architecture
• Natural Environment
• Nightlife & Entertainment
• People & Faces
• Shopping
• Sport
• Transport

NB: This isn't a competition, but an opportunity for established and emerging photographers, both our regular contributors and photographers we've never worked with before, to be published and paid for their work.

For more information, including our terms & payment rates, email info@discovertnt.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

TDC launches upgrade of T&T room stock

Last week, the Tourism Development Company Ltd (TDC) of Trinidad & Tobago launched a brand new Hotel and Guesthouse Room Stock Upgrade Incentive Project at the Trinidad Hilton & Conference Centre to improve the quality of accommodation on the islands.

The TDC explains that this multi-million dollar tourism initiative will facilitate the upgrade of the existing room stock of small- and medium-sized hotels and guesthouses (with a maximum of 100 rooms and operating for more than four years). Ahead of an expected strengthening of the international tourism sector in 2010 and going in to 2011, the initiative is intended to assist local hoteliers to offer a higher quality product and to be able to compete more effectively in the Caribbean and international markets. The programme will provide reimbursement of 25% of refurbishment costs up to $12,000 for Trinidad properties and $15,000 for Tobago properties.

Managed by the TDC, the two-year project was developed after consultation with the Ministry of Tourism, the Tobago House of Assembly, local hotel associations, hotel owners and operators, and other public and private sector stakeholders. "This project offers a great incentive for small- and medium-sized accommodation properties to upgrade," said Ernest Littles, President of the TDC and Trinidad and Tobago’s Director of Tourism.

If you're looking for current accommodation in either Trinidad or Tobago, visit our Discover Trinidad & Tobago website.

Photo: Cafe.Moka, published in Discover Trinidad & Tobago

Best of CaribbeanTales Film Festival & Symposium gets ready for Barbados

The Best of CaribbeanTales Film Festival & Symposium, founded by Trinidadian Frances Anne Solomon, takes place at the Savanna Hotel and Olympus Theatres in Barbados, 23 February through 2 March.

A highlight of the fortnight will be a two-day master class on film directing with American filmmaker Julie Dash presented by the Caribbean Film and Media Academy (CFMA), founded by Trinidadian Lisa Wickham, and the US Embassy in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 February. The class is aimed at both emerging and established Caribbean film directors at the Savannah Hotel in Barbados. It is free to the public.

Dash's 1991 debut feature film Daughters of the Dust made her the first African American woman to have a movie on general theatrical release in the United States. In 2004, the Library of Congress placed added the film to the National Film Registry as a "national treasure". Her 2003 The Rosa Parks Story won her a NAACP Image Award, The Family Television Award and The New York Christopher Award, as well as an Emmy nomination for lead actor Angela Bassett who played the role of Parks.

The CFMA will also host two screenings of Dash's The Rosa Parks Story on 23 February at 9:30am (for secondary school students), and 26 February at 3:00pm (for the general public) at the Olympus Theatre. Both screenings will host feedback sessions with the director.

Additionally, there will be screenings during the festival of Trinidadian Frances Anne Solomon's A Winter Tale; Africa Unite by Stephanie Black; Maria Govan's Bahamian feature Rain; Tribes by Jamaica's Ras Kassa; Power of the Vagina by Jimmel Daniel; Nurse.Fighter.Boy. by Charles Officer, among others. The festival also features a symposium on global distribution hosted by One Caribbean Media, and a Caribbean film marketplace hosted by the Shridath Ramphal Center at the University of the West Indies, as well as other educational workshops and events.

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Carnival on the Esplanade

Though the crowd was small on the first day of the Carnival Educative Arts Festival in Tobago, the arrival of a cruise ship on day two gave performers added incentive to perform at their best: the tourists were delighted!

Lack of public awareness of the events have made great performances unfortunately go unnoticed by the public and visitors alike over the last few years. The good news, though, is that although the older icons were noticeably absent, they have done a good job of passing on the legacy to the children. Here are just a few pictures of the event.

Midnight Robbers - The next generation!


Jab Jab


Fancy Sailors:


Bat:


Dame Lorraine:


Tobago Wild Indians:


Native American Wolf Costume:


Gorillas:


Blue Devils:




Moko Jumbies:

THA's Interdepartment Calypso & Queen Show

Image via Wikipedia

The 12th Annual Tobago House of Assembly Inter-department Calypso and Personality Show will be held on Thursday 4 Feburary at 7pm at the Dwight Yorke Stadium.

This year's show promises fun, humor and excitement as participants seek to bring glory to their division. Patrons are asked to walk with their rags and flags. Guest performers include Talpree, Ainsley King and Fire Fuzion.

Tickets are available at Culture Department (Wilson Road and Main Street Branches in Scarborough) and Penny Savers Supermarkets (Scarborough, Canaan, Carnbee). Below are a few of the contestants:

Miss Community Development

Miss Health and Social Services


Miss Fire Services

Miss Agriculture

(Photographer - Troy Andrews, Departmentt. of Cuture, THA)

The Pursuit of Caribbean Unity

The following post is written by Tourism Development Company (TDC) Marketing Consultant and Trinidad & Tobago Guardian columnist Derren Joseph on the proposed acquisition of Air Jamaica (AJ) by Caribbean Airlines (CAL), and its implications for intra-regional integration.

Comments from last week’s column make it clear that for some of us this debate over a single regional airline is a reflection of the issues around Caribbean identity and Caribbean unity in general. Often, we see logical arguments mixed with more emotive comments. There is some anti-Jamaican rhetoric by us Trinis as well as anti-Trinidad and Tobago rhetoric by some Jamaicans. It seems that for many amongst us, the wounds inflicted during the brief “Federation” are still open.

Yet for the rest of us, we recognise that it is time to move on and acknowledge the value in working together as a region. An online forum reported two weeks ago on some sort of a meeting held in New York with Air Jamaica staff and members of the Jamaican diaspora. In this meeting, the Air Jamaica CEO put the prospective merger in perspective. He said that all options were considered but the offer from Caribbean Airlines is the best one on the table. For Jamaicans, losing the Air Jamaica brand would be sad – as it was for Trinidad and Tobago with BWIA/Bwee.

The Air Jamaica CEO reminded the audience about Northwest losing their brand name in their merger with Delta. After Delta, Northwest was the oldest American carrier operating under the same identity. Then there was the America West and US Airways merger in which America West lost their name, because US Airways was considered a stronger or better known brand.

Ironically however, this may in fact be a case of us taking one step back to take two forward. I was reminded last Monday that before independence BWIA/Bwee was a part of BOAC – the British Overseas Airways Corporation. The BOAC was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974.

In 1967 our government took complete control of BWIA from BOAC. One year later, in 1968, Air Jamaica was established and started operations on 1 April 1969. At that time the Jamaican government was the majority shareholder, with Air Canada being a minority shareholder and providing technical, maintenance and logistical help.

So by returning to a single regional carrier, we may be returning to our pre-independence scenario. An aviation commentator from Mexico put it well – “the two airlines are too small to be going on with this pappy show”. Of course, this makes sense. In the bigger aviation world, Air Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines are two tiny dots. Remember that Air Jamaica has only nine jets and Caribbean Airlines has eight jets.

Some say that the curse of the Caribbean is too many big egos and small minds. I thought of that as I listened to discussions over Trinidad and Tobago providing aid to Haiti. It took me a while to get over the shock that there were actually some Trinis who thought we should not help our neighbours out.

For me it is crystal clear that the new global reality requires nation states to cooperate not just in the name of collective prosperity, but in the name of basic survival. God forbid, but should any similar disaster befall us here, we would obviously hope that our neighbours would be generous in helping us recover.

Despite our relative wealth and prosperity, we are still what the United Nations classifies as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS). According to the UN, SIDS are small island and low-lying coastal countries that share similar sustainable development challenges, including small population, lack of resources, remoteness, susceptibility to natural disasters, excessive dependence on international trade and vulnerability to global developments. In addition, we suffer from lack of economies of scale, high transportation and communication costs, and costly public administration and infrastructure.

I am therefore advocating that this wider perspective could inform our views on the proposed merger between Air Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines. The future of the Caribbean region necessarily lies in our ability to effectively pool our natural and human resources. Trying to survive on own is simply not a serious option.

Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding is quoted as saying that “Jamaica's future advance cannot depend solely on our own efforts as an island state but that we have to work together with the countries around us.” He went on to note “the increasing convergence of views on the need and the value of widening and deepening the process of regional integration as we seek to combat the global forces in which we could be totally devastated were we not to form a common bond.”

My name is Derren Joseph and I love my country. As always, I end by saying that despite our challenges, we are so blessed to live in this beautiful land. Let us continue to have the audacity of hope in our country, as we move towards Vision 2020.

Republished with permission. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of MEP, its staff, or its publications.

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Trini Musicians Shine: Heather Headley wins a Grammy, Russell Leonce an Independent Music Award

Cover of Audience of One

Trinidad was the first island in the Caribbean to have its music and musicians recognised on international stages with Calypso music back in the 1920s, and a new generation of Trinidadians continue to do the small twin-island nation proud.

At Sunday's Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Tony Award-winning actress and singer Heather Headley picked up her first Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album category for her album Audience of One. She was also nominated for Best Gospel Performance ("Jesus is Love"), and had received two 2004 nominations for her debut album This is Who I Am.

Meanwhile, up-and-coming local star Russell Leonce's album Culture of Love picked up an Independent Music Award last week in the Gospel category. As part of the award, winners' music is featured on the Independent Music Awards page at the iTunes Store and on the iTunes Indie Spotlight page, and winners are provided with a year's worth of marketing and sales support and performing opportunities.