Reigning Pic-O-De-Crop Calypso Monarch Adrian AC Clarke has called for the return of two prominent events to the Crop Over festival calendar, citing the increased interest from artistes and the public in the annual celebration.
Speaking at a media event on Wednesday at Courtesy Garage Wildey, where he received his Pic-O-De-Crop grand prize of a 2024 Nissan E Power X-Trail, Clarke applauded the strong support for this year’s Crop Over festivities. He suggested the time was right to reintroduce both the Cohobblopot and Soca Monarch competitions, which were once staple events of the season.
“It would be good to see the Cohobblopot style event happening again,” Clarke told reporters. “The more hands-on creatives, the ones creating the costumes for the bands and so on, would benefit from its return. People would like to see that sort of thing again because it always culminated with bands and artistes performing, which is what we mainly looked forward to.”
Cohobblopot, which last took place in 2014, was previously regarded as one of the marquee events of the Crop Over season. It was known for featuring top Barbadian acts and showcasing the Kings and Queens of the Kadooment bands on the penultimate night of the festival.
Clarke also spoke about the Party Monarch competition, which has not been held since 2019. He confirmed it will return next year in a rebranded form as Soca Rumble.
“Party Monarch for 2025 in my books will be happening,” Clarke declared.
He added that the competition would offer one of the largest cash prizes ever. “That is as far as I will go for now. But we are definitely working on getting everything sorted. We are looking at giving the biggest prize to whoever wins that competition.”
He plans to approach corporate Barbados for sponsorship, stressing that support is crucial to making the event a success. “I will be out there making myself a pest with corporate Barbados. If you really want to see this show happen, you’ve got to get some support. I am quite sure if I speak to the NCF (National Cultural Foundation), they will come on board. It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”
He pointed to the success of the Soca 5.0 event as evidence of the potential for Soca Monarch’s revival. “Soca 5.0 was a magnificent event. It was the best event for Crop Over 2024, and the NCF will have a big job trying to better that for 2025. You had Krosfyah, Coalishun, and Square One, so it was good to see these bands on stage. Of course, we had Machel Montano from Trinidad, but I would be bold enough to say that people came to see the local performers in my opinion. People were proud to see their local acts performing on the biggest stage for Crop Over.”
The three-time Pic-O-De-Crop monarch also praised the NCF and other stakeholders for delivering a successful Crop Over season, despite some challenges.
“To put on a festival is a huge thing, and when you look at the personnel you work with, it’s small,” he said. “Nothing is perfect, but as far as I am concerned, you take the critiques and you work with them.” (SB)
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