Caribbean Brass Festival moves to new venue

AFTER 15 consecutive years at PSA Grounds on Long Circular Road, St James, the Caribbean Brass Festival is moving to another venue this year. The annual affair will now be held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium Training Ground on February 18 with bmobile as the new sponsor. Village Promotions, which is responsible for the event, also announced major changes at yesterday’s press briefing at Kam Wah Restaurant, Maraval Road, Port-of-Spain. Spokesman for Village Promotions Sayeed Emamalie said, “We are looking forward to presenting our patrons with some artistic celebrations beyond comparison.”

He said the theme “Celebrate Our Music — Celebrate Our Victory,” is aimed at capturing the mood and energy of the nation, and a region on the rise, which is a definite cause for celebration. The first major change is the new venue, then the title sponsor bmobile, and the inclusion of an all-inclusive section at the Caribbean Brass Festival. It had always commanded its space as the world’s largest convention of Soca bands and solo artistes, Emamalie noted. This year’s show will feature eight big bands and more than a dozen solo artistes.

Emamalie also stated that the new venue will have a positive impact because of the improvements — such as a better layout of the grounds and a much improved traffic management plan. In previous years, Brass Festival offered VIP treatment to some patrons. However, that treatment will go on sale this year. The all-inclusive VIP tickets offer food and beverages, secured parking and a private entrance. One thing that will remain the same is the Roll on/Roll off stage production, and the organisers expect to see the same number of patrons at the new venue as in previous years.