~ Richardson regrets major companies did not contribute ~
MARIGOT--The troupe "Arawak Wild Session" of the Grand Case Cultural Association took overall honours in the Adult Parade and "Candy Shop" of the Sandy Ground Cultural Centre did likewise in the Children's Parade, when winners were announced by the Carnival Committee Wednesday night.
Trophies and cheques for all the winners will be presented next Thursday, March 1, at the Chamber of Commerce, Concordia, at 8:00pm.
Sunlight Revellers finished in second place overall in the Adult Parade with Hot and Spicy in third place.
French Quarter Primary School's troupe "Colours of the World" was second overall in the Children's Parade, with Spring Hills' "Marines" in third place.
In other results from the Children's Parade, Pascale Dashannique won Best Individual Costume for her "Hibiscus Flower." "Candy Shop" of the Sandy Ground Cultural Centre won Best Float, while French Quarter Primary School's troupe "Colours of the World" was awarded Best Choreography.
In the Adult Parade, Best Individual Costume went to No. 8 in "Arawak Wild Session" (name not provided) and Best Float to Jolly Eclipse float No. 5 in the "Wonders of Ancient Egypt" troupe. Bethany Home's Garden theme won Best Road Piece and "Arawak Wild Session" was voted Best Choreography.
The Prix d'Honneur was awarded to "ASC Locomotiv." The Carnival parades were generally hailed as a big success this year. The burning of King Momo on the Marigot waterfront last night signalled the end of Carnival according to tradition. President of Festivités Carnavalesque de Saint-Martin (FCDSM) Jean-Philippe Richardson thanked all the troupe leaders for placing their confidence in the carnival committee.
"Without that confidence Carnival 2012 would not have been the great success it was," said Richardson. "We don't have enough words to express our appreciation. We are still hoping to get a lot more people participating in carnival in the future, to have more troupes. The word on the street is that the people were happy."
Richardson said the committee has already been distributing a tentative carnival programme for 2013 and will shortly be publishing its financial report for the public's viewing.
Aside from the success of the parades, Richardson nevertheless said he was disappointed that some of the big businesses, which had the means to do so, did not contribute to Carnival. "Companies such as Semsamar, EDF, Nagico, Sogea, Chippie, all these businesses are making money off the French side public, but not one of them contributed. They need to step up to the plate. Contributions to carnival are tax deductible. Even if you don't want to do a major sponsorship, but just want to pay one of the bills, we can arrange that too. My message to those companies is 'OK you've enjoyed watching it this year, but next year help the committee; that way we can help the troupes and get more people out on the streets of Marigot."
Richardson acknowledged that the local concerts were not as successful as he had hoped, but he vowed to work on that aspect in the future with a different strategy, adding the committee will no longer accept to be let down by promoters.
"If people want to criticise the committee, that's OK, but give us a good solution. If you're not going to propose a solution, don't say anything. Tell me what you've done for your country. If you can't answer that, don't criticise. We are open for dialogue in the interest of improvement."
The previously postponed Unity Jump Up from Marigot to Philipsburg will now take place on Saturday March 10.
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