I'm watching the Carnival parade on CTNTWorld and I'm thinking, Carnival is big money.


Band leaders,costume creators and designers, caterers, retailers, DJs,Soca singers and bands, transportation companies etc. etc., they all make money off the Carnival.


Meanwhile, panists labor long and hard, hoping to win the Panorama lottery.
If they do win, the prize money after expenses amounts to relatively little compensation to the panist, based on the size of a large panorama steelband.


I think something is definitely wrong with this picture.

Am I the only one seeing this?

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  • Yes, there is big money in pan, but do we have the people with the vision and a mission to get that done? For instance in these days of fetes a good promoter can have in excess of a million dollars in profits. so much money is spent on the preparation of a steelband for the Panorama, e.g.decorations, painting of stands,maintenance of existing stands and we can go on and on. We do not even market our Panorama, great deceased singers such as Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston when appearing on shows did lots of marketing for their shows to be enormous successes. our very own Machel Montano very effective marketing proceedures. We treat Panorama as if it is a competition of the "60'"era.Why can't we have steelband fetes. Last year Invaders went to Jamaica and played in a steelband fete "Save Our Soca" SOS. Only soca and steelband, this was held in the Hilton in Montego Bay, scored big time. i f Pan Trinbago does not see itself as an investment company for the improvement of pan, and spend in order to make, then someone will be asking the same questions 20 years from now. There is so much that can be done.

  • You omitted the hotels and B&B's that double and triple their rates at Carnival. It cost me $200 US per night to stay at a guest house.  The linens were changed once during my one week stay and I had to share a bathroom with 2 other women. Nothing extra was provided!

    • Is all about de blue notes. And de panman and panwoman feelin de blues, playin dey notes. So you had a manage a troilet fuh yuh two bills. Dey good. De rate dey was changing de linens at, is ah good ting yuh didn't have to share de bed (with de 2 other women). lmao. Aye, as long as you had a great, safe time, but dey good. Dey good.

  •  Well, you're right but the panists should be ones negotiating for a fair share of the gold. What are their limits? Do they perform during the Carnival?  Can they?  Seems that their contribution and ll the work to get to the Panorama is limited to just that.  How else can thye be involved so that they could benefit from Carnival?  Maybe other performances immediately after Carnival?  This needs some deep thought. 

  • You most certainly are not alone. It is ridiculous the prize money that they award big bands, or any band for that matter, night after night practicing over and over again to put on a super show that seems is totally not apreciated. Trinidad and Tobago , the land of steelband and calypso, but yet it seems to the panists that calypso is more glorified than the pan. Worldwide the instrument is more accepted and honored than in the land that it was created.

  • STEELBANDS and PAN-PLAYERS are being BLIND-SIDED for a very long time by Pan Trinbago. The Government gave Pan Trinbago $25millions to run Panorama another $4million towards transportations and lodging for the Tobago bands.

    For semi-finals Pan Trinbago collects:

    12,000 X $300.00          for the Greens                                  $3,600000.00

    14,000 X $250.00           for the Grand Stand                         $3,500000.00

    14,000 X $200.00         for the North Stand                            $2,800000.00

     

    Corporate Booth Rental                                                        $$$$$$$

    Food Vending                                                                      $$$$$$$

    Other Vending                                                                     $$$$$$$

     

     

    FINALS

    20,000 X $400.00                           $8,000000.00             Grand Stand receipts

    14,000 X $350.00                           $4,900000.00             North Stand receipts

    per-per-view                                   $$$$$$

    broadcast rights                             $$$$$$

    CD's Sales                                    $$$$$$

    DVD's                                           $$$$$$

     

    Does the STEELBANDS and PAN-PLAYERS share in this BOUNTY - who this money really belong too.

    STEELBANDS and PAN-PLAYERS demand an OPEN AUDIT from Pan Trinbago about your money, you guys are taking this to lightly.

     

    WITH OUT PAN-PLAYERS THEIR ARE NO PANORAMA. it is time for this CORRUPTIONS to stop.

     

    • "Audit"? Yuh want somebody get shot? lol. (Yuh should hear de bacchanal, when George asked for audit...)

      Stop? Stop? So, now Panorama done, everybody waking up. But de GHOST doh sleep. Dey try to silence de GHOST, and frame meh, because ah was warnin dem, an exposin dem. But dey wanted to hear dey pan, and now pretending to care, now dat de beastly feast is over. Ash Wednesday. De day when dey stop worshippin de Devil, and start back worshippin God. (Like dey could fool ANY "god".) Fornicating over, back to worship. A fighter in de struggle doh take time off to recreate. When the battle is won, den he/she does celebrate. A bunch of patronizers, sympathizers, and social climbers. Make an angel look like a demon, and a demon like an angel. Call de GHOST anything but "a child of God". But, I know what and who I represent, and kept it REAL from DAY ONE! Regardless of who vex, who twist meh words, who project dey own personas, who talk like shepherd, but really wolf in sheep clothing. If DE CAP FIT YUH, WEAR IT! Now everybody want to be ah advocate. Advocacy is not a Monday night football event. It's a 365/24-7 commitment, and based on PRINCIPLE and SACRIFICE! Without apology,

      GHOST   

    • Terry it look like somebody is "PIMPIN' pan people. lol

      • But during Panorama, when the GHOST remarked "Pan Trinbago and Panorama. The Pimp and the Prostitute"... (WOW! You all are truly amazing. I mean that in a good way.) Good think, I seek no validation, and my commitment is to be ALWAYS be true to the game.

        GHOST. 

  • Listening to an interview with a T&T government minister on the Carnival broadcast on CTNTWorld, and he mentioned having a second Carnival for Tobago, maybe in October.

    I would suggest a month long pan festival instead.

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