Junior Pan Fest gets Vinlec Money

Last Monday June 20th, the St. Vincent Electricity Services (Vinlec) handed over EC$30,000 in sponsorship money to the Youlou Pan Movement (YPM).
The money will be used to help with the staging of the 2011 Vinlec Junior Pan Fest competition which takes place at Carnival City Victoria Park this Sunday June 26th. This is the fourth consecutive year that Vinlec has injected money into one of the YPM’s pan competitions.
The money was handed over to Head of the YPM Warren Knights by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vinlec Thornley Myers. The handing over was witnessed by among others CEO of the Carnival Development Corporation (CDC) Ashford Wood. Accepting the cheque and thanking Vinlec, Knights said that he is hoping that other private sector entities can follow in the footsteps of Vinlec. He stressed that donations like Vinlec’s, demonstrates corporate support for the young people of the country.

Commenting, Myers said that Vinlec has had a longstanding association with pan. He revealed that the company is associated with the ‘Pan against Crime’ initiative while they sponsored the Potential Steel Orchestra for a number of years.
He described Vinlec’s support of pan as, “a good investment” and stressed that that Vinlec is committed to developing pan in SVG while the company hopes to continue and improve the relationship with the YPM.

“We think this is important in terms of the development of culture and this important art form in SVG”, said Myers
CEO Wood said the CDC is pleased with Vinlec’s support. He added that there has been tremendous growth in pan with several districts now boasting of having their own steel orchestras that have attracted youngsters and provided them with an opportunity to do something worthwhile.
Meanwhile on Sunday, the Junior Pan Fest will see 12 pan sides competing in two categories for first place trophies and bragging rights. This year the competition has seen an increase in both the number of community bands and school bands.

The schools competing this year are, the CW Prescod Primary School, the Girl’s High School (GHS), the St. Joseph Convent Kingstown (SJCK), the Adelphi Secondary School, the Bishop’s College Kingstown (BCK) and the Troumaca Primary School. The community groups are the Symphonix Steel Orchestra, the Genesis Steel Orchestra, the George town All Stars, the North Stars (Rose Bank), Starlift Steel Orchestra and the National Lotteries Authority Sion Hill Euphonium Steel Orchestra.

On Tuesday during the CDC’s final press conference for Vincy Mas 2011, Knights said that this year the Junior Pan Fest will begin at 4 p.m. The show will have as Masters of Ceremonies Sheridan Haynes (second runner up in the Miss SVG Pageant) and Shakeira Cottle (Miss SVG contestant 2011). The competition will be staged in two categories, the School Category and the Community Bands Category. The GHS are defending school champs while the Sion Hill Euphonium Steel Orchestra are community champions. Guest artistes will come in the form of Bomani and Fireman Hooper while a mini fair will be held from 2 p.m.

21,06.2011 - Story by Lyf Compton