Heritage treasure opens in Tobago

Curtains went up on the 2003 Tobago Heritage Festival in a burst of colour and excitement embodied in the TSTT-sponsored Opening Night presentation at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex on Sunday night. With the storyline revolving around this year’s theme “Our Heritage — A Legacy To Treasure,” it was an action-packed and powerfully dynamic opening to the 17th edition of Tobago’s annual cultural potpourri.  The precision-timed production was characterised by an explosion of song, dance and drama featuring the island’s leading artistes and groups, including the Pembroke Folk Performers; Les Coteaux Cultural Theatre who left patrons in awe with their daring limbo routine; Delaford Village Council Youth Arm who performed the “cleansing” ritual dance to get proceedings underway; among other groups and performers.

But the night belonged to Tobago-born calypsonian “Tobago Crusoe” (Orthneil Bacchus), now residing in England, who returned especially for the 21-day cultural feast and delivered a command performance. “Robinson Crusoe” (Deryck Brathwaite), a “European tourist” (Linda Dick) and “Ras” (Percival Trim) were the main characters in the production which focussed on aspects of Tobago’s rich and diverse indigenous cultural artform which will be showcased at village venues throughout the island over the next three weeks. The Heritage bandwagon rolls into Bethel tonight for the presentation “Rites of Passage” at the Bethel Hard Court and moves on to Delaford, east Tobago, tomorrow night. Both shows begin at 8.30 pm.