West’s winning ways

Challenging is how veteran bandleader Betty West described getting her band ICONS of Crop Over ready and on the road for Grand Kadooment 2026.

At the end of the island’s largest street parade on Monday, West – a name synonymous with the festival – took home a raft of awards including the prestigious Best Festival Designer – The Robert Weekes Award, Best Presentation – Heritage, Best Band on the Road – The George Dear Award and Small Band of the Year – Heritage.

“God is at the back of everything because I never prayed so much in my life,” she told Barbados TODAY. I was scared, hardly having any money, revellers hardly coming in. It was a scary situation. I shed a few tears and whatnot, but I’m a very determined person.”

Extending thanks to her team, sponsors and the National Cultural Foundation (NCF), including its Chief Executive Officer Carol Roberts, the 83-year-old veteran designer said this year proved testing as originally she had signed up as a large band of 300 but after numbers were slow to fill up the various sections, was forced to pivot to that of a smaller category.

“People were slowly coming in and two weeks before [Grand Kadooment] I called up the NCF and said, I’m switching over to a small band because I am not the kind of person that doesn’t put my all into it. I was going towards winning and I didn’t want to be disqualified for being signed up as a large band without having the numbers.”

West thanked her team profusely for finishing the costumes on time noting the long hours that were put in, including in the wee morning hours before bands began lining up.

“I had a skeleton staff and these people love me and work for me. At three o’clock in the morning, I was still working on backpacks. So when you saw me on Kadooment Day, I didn’t sleep all night, and even my band members. They are so loyal to me and they love me as much as I love them, to be honest. I give them total respect, they give me total respect and that is why I’m so organised.”

West also gave special praise to her niece Makayla for her work in selecting and training a group of dancers and ensuring they were ready to perform particularly as they made up the section Fancy Sailors paying tribute to her long-time friend and rival, the late Gwyneth Squires.

Looking ahead to a future Kadooment without her, West said she is training a young woman she calls Angel in the craft among other youth for the day she decides to step aside.

“This year I’m coming in association with a couple of young folks. I’m going to train them…You to run it as a business. So I tell them my faults, where I’ve been wrong and what they should do and whatnot and so on, and believe me, a lot of them are very creative. 

“You know, a lot of people think when you get to a certain age, you cannot take advice from young people. But sometimes I put them together and I tell them, ‘What do you think about this?’ And they say ‘Well, I think you should change this’. So as I say, it’s teamwork.”

On ICONS of Crop Over which paid tribute to Squires and other late bandleaders including Winston Jordan, Reggie Cave, Roseann Lewis, Robert Weekes and Renee Ratcliffe, West said it was necessary to show love and respect to each of them who helped her hone her craft and build Grand Kadooment into the spectacle that it is.

Looking ahead to next year, West said that she intends to start securing sponsors from next month and “kick off” in November.

(JB)