Crop Over to the north

Speightstown businesses and vendors want more Crop Over and cultural activities in the island’s northern city.

Little Bristol will be the place to be tomorrow as artisans, musicians, dancers, and cultural practitioners descend at the Mahaica Playing Field in Speightstown for the First Citizens Crop Over Launch and Ceremonial Delivery of the Last Canes.

Technical staff from the National Cultural Foundation preparing for tomorrow’s First Citizens Crop Over launch and Ceremonial Delivery of the Last Canes.

Although businesses are anticipating high numbers as the streets are filled with people and dance and music invade the normally quiet, historic town, they also say Speightstown should be more involved in the cultural festival.

Debbie Armstrong, proprietor of the restaurant Spice Tongue, told Barbados TODAY, that she expected Little Bristol to be abuzz with activity tomorrow because some of the small local shops in the area would receive much-needed business. Armstrong said that Government should host cultural activities during the week so all the businesses could reap benefits because some closed on Saturday.

“Speightstown usually doesn’t have much activity. For all the years I have been here, I have been seeing it almost like a ghost town and nothing really happens here in the north so to see all this big activity is a new thing,” Armstrong said, adding “ I think this Government is taking the initiative to do something better to bring more life and activity to Speightstown.”

A fruit and vegetable vendor,  who asked to be identified as Victor, was elated that the Ceremonial Delivery of the Last Canes would be occurring on an old canefield, which is now the Speightstown Playing Field.

Speightstown fruit and vegetable vendor ‘Victor’.

“They should bring it to the north more. They started out doing it at plantation houses and then carried it to Queen’s Park but I think bringing it back to the north is a good idea. The area where they are holding it right now all here used to be sugarcane so it is a good idea,” he commented.

Leon Hooper acknowledged that the festival’s return to Speightstown was a good thing, but contended that the northern city needed developmental activities and not ‘a one-day’ cultural event.

“We don’t need more cultural activities because cultural activities are just one-day events that bring money to a certain set of people. What we need in Speightstown is more development. If we have investment then more people would be coming to Speightstown and more money would be generating and circulating,” Hooper emphasized.