Gospel and Heritage

Tobagonians and visitors to the island will be in for an entertainment feast this weekend, featuring a mix of gospel and indigenous culture in an unprecedented two days of festivities back to back. It starts today with the first ever Tobago International Gospel Festival at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex, which has been specially modified/upgraded for the occasion, and rolls into tomorrow when the curtains go up on the 17th edition of the annual Tobago Heritage Festival, the island’s premier cultural showcase. And this is as it should be, since it is envisaged that the visitors attracted to the gospel festival will stay on for the Heritage Festival. A sort of “double whammy” in events tourism, with the island being “launched” as an effective international gospel fest centre and, at the same time, providing that much-needed impetus in promotion/marketing of the Heritage Festival, according to Secretary of Tourism/Transportation/Enterprise Development/Settlements at the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Neil Wilson.  This was anticipated in the planning of the event. In fact, Wilson says the question of attracting visitors to Tobago as a favoured tourist destination was the overall objective behind the conceptualising of the gospel fest some three years ago.

On the other hand, he said, it was generally felt that the Heritage Festival has not enjoyed the best of marketing efforts over the years. The International Gospel Fest — featuring Dr Bobby Jones of BET (Black Entertainment Cable tv Network in the US) and other popular US gospel artistes/groups alongside leading local gospel acts — will be filmed by BET for viewing in the US, all towards marketing Tobago. The gospel fest starts promptly at 4 pm tomorrow, ending at midnight, and some 20 hours later, Prime Minister Patrick Manning will officially open the 2003 Tobago Heritage Festival in a traditional “opening night” presentation. This year’s offering is titled “The Best of Tobago” — perenially sponsored by the Telecommunication Services of Trinidad and Tobago.