Birds of a soca feather flock UWI

Hasani Walters, Gleaner Writer

In Jamaica, mid-March to early-April is the season for vividly costumed, sometimes half-naked, eye-catching revellers to caper and cavort to the pulsating beat of soca music. The carnival spirit takes over and many of those who indulge in the festivities seem to lose control as they 'palance'.

Inside The Party boarded the soca train and headed for the University of The West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, to look at the 'Birds of a Feather' theme for this year's carnival celebration. Ibrahim 'IB' Konteh, Cultural and Entertainment Affairs Chairman for the Guild of Students, explained that the theme was born out of a brainstorming session of the Carnival Planning Committee.

"We thought that this would bring an interesting feel to this carnival season and allow the halls to be as creative and colourful as they want to. Last year, some persons felt they couldn't really be as expressive through the costumes as they wanted. As such, we really tried to provide a theme so that the bands could get as original and expressive as possible," Konteh said.

Strategic plan

There is a strategic plan behind UWI Carnival 2011. First, the committee is organised into various subcommittees, whose members ensure that all the various aspects of the event are addressed, among them logistics, promotions and sponsorship. In keeping with regional integration, people from different Caribbean countries where carnival is held annually, such as Trinidad and Tobago, are involved in the planning process.

Konteh explained that these persons' involvement brings a variety of inputs to the planning process, as they add their own knowledge of carnival to the mix. "By this, we try to ensure that all UWI students, no matter what island they come from, can get to experience something that's similar to what they're used to. It's sort of a melting pot," he said.

"We're also being very thorough as it relates to the legal aspect of it. The necessary permits have been applied for, weeks in advance. We don't want anything to hamper the four-day festivities for the patrons. Also, our dialogue with the sponsors has been around how to improve each event for patrons. We are adding various infrastructural improvements to each event from our main sponsors, Appleton Jamaica Rum, LIME, Coca-Cola and Wata," he said.

The on-campus anticipation of UWI Carnival 2011 has been building and Konteh believes that this year's series of events will be successful. He said that thus far, patrons not only seem to understand what the committee is bringing to the table, but are also very excited about it. The alumni have also been responding well. All the hall bands are on-board and have been busy designing their costumes to depict the 'Birds of a Feather' theme. Each hall's costume will depict a particular bird.

Pushing the halls

"Really and truly, we just wanted to push the halls to their creative limit. They can do so much with this theme and can take it to whatever level they wish. This is where the future designers have the opportunity to polish their art and put their work on display. That is what we're hoping to bring across; the talent of the students," Konteh said.

'Birds of a Feather' will be portrayed mainly at the famed Ring Road road march, where each band will present a costume and T-shirt as well as a queen with their parti-cular bird's image. The bands will be judged on how well they interpret and execute the theme.

Konteh also said that the committee has ordered more paint for this year's J'Ouvert and that there is a stellar lineup of artistes for the traditional Ring Road road march. Also, as is customary, the Students' Union will host J'Ouvert. Last year's Beach Party venue was Waves Beach, but this time around the revellers are headed to Sugarman's Beach, Portmore.

The importance of the event is underscored by the organisers hosting of the first ever media launch for UWI Carnival in Chancellor Hall's dining room on the campus yesterday.