NEWS

NAILAH WINS THIRD PLACE AT INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION

Nailah Blackman’s video for her song Boujee has placed third at the 2020 International Songwriting Competition (ISC), which was inundated with more than 26,000 entries from 158 countries.

The website for the ISC describes the competition as, “An annual song contest whose mission is to provide the opportunity for both aspiring and established songwriters to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena”.

The competition, which judges based on creativity, originality, lyrics, melody, arrangement, and overall likeability, announced nominations earlier this year. Boujee and Games earned Blackman and her manager, Soverall, nominations in the music video and world categories, respectively.

NEWS

HERO LANDS ON AMAZON PRIME AND CINEPLEX

Trinidadian/Canadian film Hero is now available for streaming in Canada on Premium VOD in the Cineplex Store, and on Prime Video in the United States. The film is an adaptation of the true-life story of Trinidadian airman, lawyer and diplomat Ulric Cross, who worked with some of Africa’s most charismatic leaders during the thrilling but turbulent formative years of Ghana's independence and the Pan-African movement. Hero has received tremendously positive reviews at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Canada. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the film played in UK cinemas on a 40-city tour that covered England, Scotland and Wales.

The cast includes Trinidad’s Nickolai Salcedo in the title role, Peter Williams (Stargate SG1), Joseph Marcell (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), Jimmy Akinbola (Holby City) and Ghanaian stars John Dumelo, Adjetey Anang and Prince David Osei.

Produced by Frances-Anne Solomon, the film has won multiple awards including the 2019 Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Diaspora Narrative Feature Film category. It was also selected as the opening night feature for the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

For some insight into the making of the movie, visit: www.socanews.com.

THE TABERNACLE REOPENS WITH A NEW LOOK

The Tabernacle, in the heart of Ladbroke Grove, was built in 1888 as an evangelical Christian church. In recent years serving as a multi-purpose arts and culture venue, and now home to the Notting Hill Carnival, within whose footprint it sits, the building has been closed for over a year due to the pandemic. But doors opened again on Monday 17 May, in line with the Government Covid-19 safety measures.

The Tabernacle also houses a restaurant serving a great variety of well-priced snacks and meals. We've only seen pictures, but the Tabernacle has a brand-new look.

Get ready to rejoin community activities at the Tabernacle, from Monday to Saturday. Spaces are also available for hire.

NEWS

MIAMI CARNIVAL SET TO OPEN ON COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND

Miami Carnival is set to return in October this year. After a year of hiatus, Miami-Broward One Carnival Host Committee, in partnership with the South Florida Carnival Band Leaders' Association, are preparing for the carnival’s triumphant return.

The festivities comprise four signature events: Junior Carnival, Panorama, J'Ouvert and a costumed parade.

For three decades and counting, carnival-lovers from across the globe have thronged the city of Miami in October to celebrate Caribbean culture, soaking up the soca vibes in fetes, revelling in glittery costumes and enjoying the bacchanal of J'Ouvert.

Last year’s carnival was, as so many others, a victim of the virus. But as the vaccine rollout continues apace and Covid-19 rates decline, producers are hopeful that, with safety protocols in place, social distancing restrictions may be relaxed. All being well, the 37th edition of Miami-Broward One Carnival will make its comeback on Columbus Day Weekend, 2-10 October.

NOTTINGHAM CARNIVAL 2021 - READY, SET, GO!

Organisers of the much-loved Nottingham Carnival are planning to hold this year's event on Sunday 22 August at the Victoria Embankment.

The decision came shortly after the government announced its roadmap towards lifting restrictions from 21 June.

Organisers have the help of professional advisers to ensure they can hold the outdoor event in compliance with government Covid-19 regulations and can guarantee carnivalgoers a fun, safe and enjoyable event. Programme schedules will be made available soon.

For more information, visit nottinghamcarnival. co.uk, email: carnival@tuntum.co.uk or telephone 0115 916 6066.

NEWS

A NEW CARIBBEAN CURRENCY: DCASH

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has launched DCash, created in partnership with Barbados-based fintech company Bitt.

This new digital currency is intended to address the high cost of current payment methods and banking services, failure of banking services to meet many customers’ needs, and inefficient methods of settling cheque transactions. ECCB hopes to see the use of physical cash fall by 50% by 2025.

DCash is available for a year-long pilot project in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St Kitts and Nevis, four of the eight members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). ECCB officials hope to have rolled out DCash in the four remaining countries - Anguilla, Dominica, Montserrat and St Vincent and the Grenadines - by September this year.

Central Bank Governor Timothy N J Antoine said, “The future of the EC Dollar is digital, so let’s make history together.” He added that he foresees DCash becoming widely used, especially by farmers, fishermen, small business owners, single mothers and people without bank accounts.

DCash is emphatically not a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. To use DCash to make payments to merchants or person-to-person, you will need to create a digital wallet by downloading the mobile phone app.

NATIONAL CHILDREN’S CARNIVAL WEEK RETURNS

National Children’s Carnival Week returns, from 12 and 18 July, after a two-year hiatus. Organised by the New Carnival Company, this year's theme is 'Colours of the Rainbow’.

Frankie Goldspink, Creative Director of the New Carnival Company, expounded on the importance of the new scheme to its beneficiaries.

She said, “After such a phenomenally difficult and challenging year it is more important than ever for children and young people to join together, get creative and express themselves. Carnival is the perfect tool for nurturing the green shoots of recovery, and schools are the perfect conduit to enable this to take place.”

NEWS

LA SOUFRIÈRE ERUPTION, ST. VINCENT

St Vincent’s La Soufrière volcano, which had been dormant since 1979 but started rumbling in December 2020, erupted on Friday 9 April. Molten rock streamed down the mountain as eruptions covered much of the island in grey volcanic dust and rock fragments. These were followed by a near-constant succession of earthquakes and tremors - reminders that the volcanic activity was far from over.

At the time residents of neighbouring countries - including Saint Lucia, 76km north of St Vincent – were cautioned to stay indoors and anticipate air pollution resulting from the emission of harmful chemicals during the eruption. NASA reported that the volcanic plume shot 12 miles in the air, affecting air quality in Barbados to the east. The plume of sulphur dioxide is said to have been detected in India.

Over 20,000 people out of the island’s 110,000 population were forced to evacuate their homes. The UWI Seismic Research Centre (SRC) reports that seismic activity has been low since a tremor on 22 April associated with explosive eruption and ash venting. In the 24 hours prior to 3 June 2021, the SRC said it had recorded only a few long-period earthquakes.

However, the UWI observatory has detected persistent steaming and “thermal anomalies”. It reassured residents that these don’t suggest an explosive event is imminent; it’s more likely that a small body of leftover magma close to the floor of the Summit Crater is generating some heat.

The SRC nevertheless warned Vincentians that the volcano is still “in a state of unrest”. Activity can escalate with little or no warning. The current alert level is orange.

Today, St Vincent still needs our help. One group that is making a difference is Help SVG UK. The group was brought together by Vincy Alliance Mas, a Notting Hill Carnival mas band and social enterprise. The aim of its Help SVG UK campaign is to offer prompt and appropriate assistance to victims of the disaster and to support the morale of the affected population. To date Vincy Alliance Mas has shipped out four 40 foot containers of essential supplies and are working towards a fifth.

If you would like to help or get involved, you can:

1. Make a monetary donation to the Help SVG UK GoFundMe page: http://bit.ly/HelpSVGUK

2. Purchase a Help SVG UK relief T-shirt via https://vincyalliancemas.com/product/help-svg-uk-t-shirt/ - 100% of the proceeds go towards supporting families and friends in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

For updates on La Soufrière volcano and St Vincent, follow Help SVG UK on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/472129944235574) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/helpsvguk/).