Patriotism Month ends on a High Note!

It was a full month of exciting and informative activities that engaged both young and old. On September 21st National Patriotism Month culminated with Soca on the Steps of NAPA an event which drew close to 250 patrons.

The show which began with an energetic performance by Nadia Batson also saw performances by Erphaan Alves, Orlando Octave, Moricia Cagan, Richard Ramoutar and Sexy Vanessa. Patrons could be seen singing and dancing to their favourite songs. The night was capped off with reigning Chutney Soca Monarch Neval Chatelal who had the crowd begging for more as he showed his wide and diverse range, mesmerising the gathering with everything from chutney to soca. The appreciative audience swooned as Neval put his own spin on ‘Hello’, and received rapturous applause to his classical interpretation of ‘Full Extreme’.  During his performance, the award winning singer also reminded the audience that Trinidad and Tobago has a rich cultural heritage and patriotism is about the strength of collective love for our country.

The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, officially launched National Patriotism Month on Friday August 17, 2018 at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts, (SAPA) under the theme, “Colour Me Trinbago”. This year’s commemoration ran from August 17 to September 24th; a period which captures two of our important national holidays- Independence Day (August 31st) and Republic Day (September 24th).

During this time of the year there is an increased drive to strengthen that connection with our history; our road to true freedom; and our nation’s core values and achievements. This year’s activities included, the Best of Best Village Folk Arts Festival, Chacachacare Heritage Tour, Harmony in Diversity Youth Festival where students interacted with persons in the cultural industry, Art Competition, 2 Cents Movement School Tour, Craft Market, Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival featuring 100% local films and an online campaign celebrating our national symbols just to name a few.

This year the Ministries of Education, Public Administration, Communication, the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS), the National Trust, the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival Committee, the Arima Borough Corporation, SWMCOL and the Two Cents Movement came on board as partner entities.

These activities are meant to inculcate national pride and form part of the significant commemoration of Trinidad and Tobago’s 56th Anniversary of Independence and 32nd year of Republican status.