Bandleaders meet with minister

Disgruntled bandleaders remain hopeful, after a meeting with Minister of the Arts Winston Peters yesterday. The meeting was the result of a protest outside of the Ministry’s Frederick Street office, where bandleaders voiced their concerned over decisions made by the board of the National Carnival Bandleaders Association (NCBA). In a meeting on Thursday night, NCBA chairman David Lopez proposed changes to the parade route, introduced registration fees, and proposed changes in the direction of crossing the stage. After voicing their concerns, members walked out of the meeting, clearly not in agreement with the proposals. According to Mike Antoine “Big Mike,” of Legacy, Peters had assured the bandleaders that he would look into the situation.

Antoine said bandleaders just wanted things to return to some normalcy so that the country could enjoy Carnival 2012. “He told us he knew nothing about the changes,” he said. “He called the mayor’s office and they said they knew nothing of the changes, and the NCBA said it wasn’t their decision.” Antoine said members were prepared to meet with the board again and were hopeful that the NCBA would reconsider the changes proposed. He said reiterated that the decisions had been made without consultation of the members.