Cultural official in Grenada wants to see more investment in carnival Apr 24, 06 | 12:43 pm A call has been made for the government of Grenada and the private sector to invest more money into the planning and marketing of the island carnival celebration. Held annual during the second weekend in August, the carnival celebration, according to recently appointed chairman of the Grenada Carnival Committee, accounts for almost one third of the island annual national income. “Government needs to recognize that carnival is serious business and it accounts for a major part of our income and is probably the largest contributor,” Dr. Trevor Friday said when he addressed the recent media launch of Spicemas 2006. He said that an average of $100,000,000 is injected into the economy from persons coming into and not people who are already in the country as a result of carnival activities. “Therefore, government needs to continue to take a more active role in the growth of carnival. They need to invest more in carnival and it is time that carnival should be given an exclusive column within the national budget,” he said, while elucidating that the carnival celebration is a vehicle and it needs to be fueled as early as the end of September each year for the following year. “This would give the committee continue momentum,” he said. Statistics at the Grenada Board of Tourism has revealed that July and August has the highest amount of visitors to the country and also the highest income injected into the economy. In making an appeal for more private sector support, assistance must also come from the people who benefit directly, the official said. “We are the people who stand to gain from carnival especially the private sector. . . they make lots of money each year, so really carnival is a valuable investment,” he said. “Carnival, my friends, is not a political event, not my carnival, not your carnival, it’s our carnival and carnival needs the support of the nation to be successful,” Friday said at the media launch which was also attended by representatives former and present corporate bodies who are partnering with the Carnival Committee to promote the celebrations. With “August is the Time” as it theme and budgeted at EC$2.2 million, the funds are expected to be contributions from both the government and private sector. SpiceMas 2006 will mark the 25th anniversary since Grenada began organizing the annual event in August and the committee is planning to make the event memorable with a number of new shows. Among the activities this year is Kaisoca contest and a Groovy Calypso Competition for calypsonians. The 2006 carnival celebrations also mark the start of a year long cultural exposition aimed at promoting the island’s cultural heritage to visitors who will be attending games held in Grenada for Cricket World Cup 2007. Reprinted from travelvideo.com