Caribbean Cable Communications in Anguilla is sponsoring the Calypso Monarch Competition, an integral part of the Summer Festival, in the sum of US$15,000.

L-R: Mr. John Benjamin, Courtney Morton and Damien Hughes

Speaking at the presentation ceremony at the Tourist Board Conference Room on Wednesday, July 30, Chairman of the Carnival Committee, John Benjamin, lauded the company for sponsoring the event over the past five years.

“Calypso is a very important art form to carnival and to the Summer Festival,” he told the press briefing. “Without calypso I think the whole Summer Festival would fall flat. It is therefore important that we have our corporate sponsorship playing its part. Government is our main sponsor, but without the corporate sector we cannot go very far. It is always a pleasure to have businesses like Caribbean Cable, which has contributed so much to the island and in particular to carnival over these past five years, to be supporting us so well.”

The cheque for the US$15,000 was presented to Courtney Morton of the Calypso Sub-Committee by the cable company’s Managing Director, Damien Hughes. “It is indeed a pleasure for us, another year, to be part and parcel of Anguilla’s Summer Festival,” he stated. “Because we are the sole cable provider on the island, and recognise the impact that the American mass media has on small societies like Anguilla, we realise that it is also important for us to maintain our own culture. It is part of maintaining that culture that we are contributing to the preservation of the important art form of calypso and by extension to the promotion of Anguilla’s culture.”

Mr. Hughes recalled that over the past five years the company contributed US$75,000 to the preservation of the island’s culture. “It gives me great pleasure to present a cheque in the amount of US$15,000 to the Anguilla Summer Festival and specifically to the Calypso Sub-Committee,” he added. “We remain committed to supporting the Anguilla Summer Festival as we recognise that as part of our society we have to demonstrate our commitment to the island’s development.”

Replying, Mr. Morton expressed gratitude to Caribbean Cable Communications for its continued support. He said the money, the equivalent of EC$40,000, would be used for cash prizes in the calypso competition. First prize will be $13,500; second prize: $10,000; third prize: $8,000; and fourth prize: $4,000. First to fourth place winners will also get trophies. The finalists will get plaques and all of the other entrants will receive $1,500.

The Calypso Monarch Competition, as the show is officially called, will be held at the Landome Bowl Cultural Centre on Wednesday, August 6. It is expected to attract one of the largest crowds at the carnival village.

| Printer-friendly page | Send this article to a friend |

World News