As the Crop Over festival marks its golden jubilee, organisers are promising enhanced steel pan musical productions for this year’s celebrations.
Chief Executive Officer of the National Cultural Foundation (NCF) Carol Roberts spoke enthusiastically about the upcoming events at a media launch on Friday.
“You do not want to miss this action. The Republic Bank Pandemonium promises to be bigger and better this year,” she said, emphasising the cultural significance of the instrument. “The sweet sound of steel has been a part of our Crop Over Festival from its official inception. That is a lifetime for some of us.”
Two major events are set to return: the Republic Bank Pan Yard Lime at the UWI Cave Hill campus tent, on Friday, July 12, featuring ten steel orchestras from communities and schools across the island; and the Republic Bank Pandemonium on Sunday, July 14 at the National Botanical Gardens, where all the nation’s steel bands, including the Barbados National Youth Steel Orchestra, will perform for an expected audience of over 30 000.
At the launch event, held at the bank’s Speightstown branch in St Peter on Friday, Managing Director and CEO of Republic Bank Anthony Clerk highlighted the institution’s commitment to cultural preservation.
He said: “Over the years, Republic Bank has made consistent and considerable investments in the preservation of Barbados’ cultural customs, practices and artforms; specifically, through our longstanding support of the island’s premier cultural festival – Crop Over. We funded multiple aspects of the festival, including our more recent title sponsorship of the revamped pan event – Pandemonium.”
Clerk also announced the bank’s intention to continue supporting the national pan events for another five years, aligning these efforts with the United Nations’ sustainable development goals and the bank’s broader corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Roberts expressed gratitude to the sponsors for their ongoing support of Barbadian culture, as the island prepares to celebrate this milestone year in the festival’s history.
