China put on a cultural show of force in the opining of the Beijing Olympic, showing such creative genius and historical pride, that the western world, especially London are baffled as to how they can top that or equal it. While the likes of Berkley, and even more so Minshall have used our culture to put us prestigiously (sic) on the world map in respect of Mas, do you think this current generation of designers/ bandleaders, can proudly and effectively represent the T&T cultural art form of mas, to international standards, like their predecessors have, if they were called upon?
Oh Yes ! Certainly, without a doubt. While I respect Peter Minshall and especially Wayne Berkley ( a true genius) Carnival has progressed and advanced so much since their day. Little is known by the local public, about achievements abroad by local designers and band leaders ( I don't know of all my self,) but quite a few do work abroad for shows, fairs, casinos and nightclubs.In fact I know of one particular designer who is also a past Carnival King that has made a good living in the U.S. doing weddings and functions for private and corporate entities.
Is there an age restriction when registering for a band and if so how is it enforced? Who would the responsibility fall on if a minor got overly intoxicated while in the band and something bad happened as a result?
The Ultimate responsibility for parenting always falls on the the Parents. Now remember bandleaders sell a package and we do not encourage under age drinking, but we certainly want to encourage our youth to continue our carnival heritage. There is nothing wrong in selling a costume to a teen,but parents should make sure they are accompanied by someone they trust on the road even at the expense of buying a costume for that person. It is also hard to say who can or can not play from our perspective, as anyone can buy a costume for anyone, or sell their costume to anyone.Most we can do is to refuse to give alcohol to minors who approach the bar on Carnival Mon & Tues. In the event of complications on the road for anyone, be it a minor or not ,Medics are there to assist.
I know most bands in Trinidad have their own security. How/what is the band's interaction with the local police? Do they just hand out guidelines that are followed, or are the police more hands on? How are security generally instructed to handle masqueraders?
I can not speak for everyone but in my case, I always advocate simply asking the outsiders to go to the side of the road, and normally that's all it takes. Of course every so often you may have to back that up with force. But usually if the security handles it correctly by out numbering and the persistent offender they usually they don't put up much of a resistance, and can be escorted to the side of the road without incident. In the case of of more drastic measures of maybe some kind of illegal activity, I always hire of duty police, fire and regiment to assist on the road with any questionable situations that may occur with security, masquerader or outsider. But rest assured that carnival is a whole lots safer than it used to be.Thanks in no small part to security in the bands.
What can costume producers and mas bands in Trinidad do to conserve and have a healthy impact on the environment. Do they even take this into consideration?
To be honest, I would have to say no. I am not sure exactly in what way you mean , I assume we are talking about littering. We clean any private venues we use ( to lets say rest.) But as for on the road the clean up is left to the Port of Spain City Council;.
Thanks again for another week.Talk to you later
BL
8 comments:
i think it will be useful to consider a legal interpretation as to whether bands that sell an all-inclusive package (including alcoholic drinks) can legally sell to minors.
i think they can't and are liable for criminal sanctions if the law is enforced.
i will look into that today with our legal department quiksilver and get back to you, cause I am also curious about that
I understand how he says parenting falls on the parent but my question I guess was more aimed at the 17/18 years ols from forign who would want to register in a band and them come to Trinidad for this all inclusive experience while backhome they can only begin to drink in bars at the age of 19 or 21. I feel some responsibilty should fall on the band. So would there be a say "teen price" for a youngester that wants to register for a costume and food alone as I myself justify the price of a costume by the amount of alchol I will cosume in those 2 days. A differnt colour writst band could perhaps stop the drink truck from giving them alchol (although I know in realty they will still get it)
I understand though that Trinidad is differnt when it comes to serving alchol. I have worked in bars in forign and if the customer looked too intoxiated we could no longer serve them as the onus lies on the bar to not let the customers get to drunk while when I worked at a bar here in Trinidad the customer could fall asleep on himself on the bar stool wake up and order another round!!
Good points..but in reality with many masqueraders buying costumes from other sources and not directly from the mas camp or even online sales thru the mas camp, there's no real way to avoid selling to minors. And to attempt to control this at the bars on the road, would be way too difficult. You could say that if it's a teen that looks young then don't serve them, but for a 17-18 yr old or so who looks no different in age than a 25yr old and in many cases they might look older, the only way would be to card them and I highly doubt ANYONE would be in favor of that type of hassle on the road. I must agree with BL on this one and say it's up to parents to advise their children on appropriate behaviour for their age :-/
Hmmm...people have to present their id when picking up their costume, correct? that might be the perfect point to implement Buuble's idea....underage, different colored band! Real simple!
Ultimately, people could still find ways around it, but if there are legal issues that pop up, the band has done all it could to protect itself? Just a thought....
The worry probably isn't from the kids who are from TnT or beyond like Europe, but more kids from here who can lose their mind and get into real alcohol trouble with all the freedom! LOLOL
As far as I know, bands where ID is required to collect a costume are in the scant minority, and oftentimes you'll find people collecting costumes for 5, 10 sometimes 20 different people at once. So even if all the costume collectors were patient and diligent enough to take on the task of rounding up copies of their entire posse's ID documents, there's absolutely no way to verify from a facsimile whether the documents are legitimate. That, and the multiple re-sales of costumes (often at the eleventh hour, in some rushed, near anonymous transaction) would make it impossible for a band to regulate which masqueraders have access to an 'adult wristband' and which don't. And don't even get me started on the subject of wristband-sharing/swapping!
So, while bar servers can be instructed not to serve alcohol to those who are obviously minors, and security can be instructed to keep an eye out for law-breakers, I think the bulk of the responsibility for preventing underage drinking in bands, and in the nation as a whole, must rest with the parents and guardians.
Hmmm, didn't know that. Interesting.....
Thanks for the info!
Its unlikely that a teen is saving their allowance to buy a costume without their parents consent. If their parents are willing to buy them an all inclusive package, they beleive their teen is responsible enough to drink in moderation, and they should be served. Growing up in Trinidad, I imagine most of you started getting served around age 15 or 16 and you turned out ok, why you want to spoil the kids fun now?
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