and Mr. Bren Romney
This year’s Anguilla Summer Festival is to begin on August 3, with a big event shared by FLOW and Tropical Distributors in cooperation with the Summer Festival Commission and the Anguilla Government.
The deal was announced at a press conference at FLOW Anguilla on Monday, July 17. There, media representatives were told that the original and longstanding Soca Monarch show at the Landsome Bowl Cultural Centre was now rebranded as “Soca Rave” featuring greater excitement and participation of competitors and entertainers. The competitors will all team up against “Mr. Decent” the 2016 Power and Grovvy King.
Ms. Jade Reymond, FLOW’s Commercial Manager, put the plans in perspective: “You may have noticed that we have changed the name of the competition this year from the FLOW Soca Competition. It is now dubbed the FLOW Soca Rave powered by Tropical Distributors,” she informed the media representatives. “We are extremely excited about this event. It is a competition, but we are trying to make it more of an event for the Anguillian community.”
Ms. Reymond continued: “The Management and Staff of FLOW are extremely proud to be partnering with Tropical Distributors. This is our first partnership of this magnitude. We have always worked with Tropical Distributors, over the years, but now we have been able to cement a nice partnership with them for the upcoming Anguilla Summer Festival. They graciously came on board when we reached out to them, very early this year, when the Government of Anguilla reached out to us about taking over the show. They have financially partnered with us and we are equal partners.
“The show is going to be on Thursday, August 3 at 8.00 p.m. sharp. We have fifteen contenders in the grovvy category and nine in the power category this year. Our 2017 participants are: Heady, Roxy, Shea Shea, Nukid, Lioness, Andy Goddard, Soca Storm, Bookie & Cham as a dual, Wiggy, KC, Pokeyman, Daddy Xtra, Big Rash and Chuckie. We have some new entrants as well as some veterans who have been with us for quite some time from the inception. Mr. Decent is defending his crown. Last year he won both titles. He is definitely a veteran in the soca arena as well as the calypso arena.” She named the guest performers as being Kenyo Baly, the 2017 St. Maarten Grovvy Monarch, and Luta, a performer from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”
Ms. Moira Topalian, Marketing Manager at Tropical Distributors, said in part: “We see great value for this event in our partnership with FLOW, and also of amazing value for the people of Anguilla. It gives our local artistes a platform to showcase their talents and ensure that the show is put on in a way that the people of Anguilla can come out, support and engage in the event.” In expressing delight with the involvement of Tropical Distributors in the show, she was pleased that the main brands of liquors involved in the sponsorship were Corona and Bacardi.
Mr. Bren Romney, Director of Youth and Culture, whose Government Department is also involved in the event, commended both companies for their long association with the Anguilla Summer Festival.
“It goes without saying that an event as important as this, both for its cultural and economic benefits, should not be the sole responsibility of the Government, but that of the entire society and stakeholders,” Mr. Romney went on. “What we accomplished through much negotiation, should be a model for shows and the future preservation of all shows going forward. I think if we can develop the types of partnerships that we have here with the other shows, I think it would lead to the long-term sustainability of the Summer Festival – and would allow Government to make other necessary investments to advance the festival beyond what we are able to do now.”
Ms. Lisa Rey, Chairperson of the Festival Commission, joined in thanking FLOW and Tropical Distributors for their joint partnership in the rebranding of the Soca Monarch/Soca Rave event. “We are glad that there has been a change to the name,” she stated. “It adds a little more excitement and appeal because everywhere in the Caribbean we have heard about soca monarchs, but never heard about a soca rave.”
She hoped that although the show was in its infancy stage, that by “rebranding it this year, it will blow up into something more than it has been over the past years.”
Mr. Shane Thompson, Deputy Chairman of the Anguilla Summer Festival, who also spearheads the soca rave and other subcommittees, praised the two sponsoring companies and the various artistes involved the event. “The show has already had its own challenges but everything is flowing smoothly,” he continued. “The participants are really excited. Practice has started. Mr. Decent says he feels all the weight is now on his shoulders because he now has to defend both crowns. Again, the excitement of the show is there. The work that FLOW, Tropical Distributors, Government of Anguilla, the Summer Festival Committee and the Soca Monarch team have been putting in is getting harder and harder, but it normally becomes that way closer to the event. We hope that everybody will come out and support the show.”
