INSENSITIVE FETE VENUE

Did the organisers not take into account the feelings of relatives and close friends of persons who had died, and whose bodies could possibly have been at the memorial centre awaiting cremation either immediately prior to or following on the advertised date of the fete? Would relatives of persons about to be cremated there, have been comfortable with coming in to make funeral arrangements in an atmosphere of preparations for a fete?

While, admittedly, funerals today are often announced in the media as a celebration of life, would relatives of deceased persons, whose custom had been given to Belgrove’s been willing to accept a celebration of another sort, a fete in the spirit of Carnival?

The Carnival fete was inappropriately marketed, what with the tickets describing it as the first memorial Carnival fete at Belgrove’s Memorial Centre, and referring to the scheduled date for the partying as "Date of Service". Were persons not entitled to see in it a macabre sense of humour?

In turn, in keeping with the levity, the inhouse disc jockey was referred to as the "Officiating Minister"; the entrance fee as the "Offering", and the emceeing of the fete, and clearly jokes by a comedian, as "Tributes".

Apparently, the Environmental Management Authority [EMA] was not amused by the venue of the fete and reportedly raised concerns leading to the fete being cancelled. This is the second dance for the 2003 Carnival season, whose venue was regarded as somewhat inappropriate. The first was the fete which had been scheduled to have taken place at the Fire Services compound on Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. This, however, was not cancelled but instead shifted to the DRETCHI compound a few hundred metres lower down Wrightson Road.

Although an official of Belgrove’s has stated that what had been planned was a simple celebration in the company’s car park and not "a big Carnival fete inside the funeral home", nonetheless his observation was a distinction without a difference.

The good thing coming out of it all is that the function has been cancelled. Unfortunately, some Calypsos, whose lyrical content had been criticised early in the season, with severe reservations about one expressed by several groups, not only receive airplay, but have gained increased popularity because of the criticisms.

At least Belgrove’s, for whatever the reason, has, to its credit, ‘pulled the plug’ on its on the crematorium compound Carnival party.

N R Sampson
Maraval