In a brief press conference on Monday, July 15th, ANGLEC proudly presented a check of EC$25,000 as its 2019 contribution to the Anguilla Summer Festival’s Calypso Committee.
Chairperson of the Anguilla Summer Festival, Ms. Lisa Rey, along with Chairman of the Calypso Committee, Mr. Joey Gumbs, were delighted to receive the appreciable gift from the island’s electricity company. It was presented by ANGLEC’s Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Jamila Morson-Hodge.
Speaking on behalf of ANGLEC, Mrs. Morson-Hodge remarked: “We are pleased to present our contribution towards the Calypso Monarch Show again this year. We have been the platinum sponsor for some time now, and we would like to extend hearty congratulations to the Calypso Committee team for all the great work that it has been doing.”
In accepting the contribution on behalf of the Summer Festival, and the Calypso Committee, Ms. Rey was eager to express her gratitude: “Once again we are extremely grateful to ANGLEC for coming on board in making yet another donation to Summer Festival and, in particular, the Calypso Monarch Show.
“This year, like others, has been another trying year. There have been some unexpected ‘shifts in the wind’. Conditions this year are as such that we have had to make a few ‘hard-lees’.” (Ms. Rey chose to use our national boat-race jargon to refer to 2019 Summer Festival state of affairs.)
She continued: “It is amazing to realize how willing ANGLEC has been to come on board with us and contribute once again. There has been no delay in this entity’s sponsorship over the years, and we can rightfully say that this company has always been the first to reach out to us. ANGLEC always ensures that its sponsorship never dwindles, and so we continue to express our sincere gratitude to ANGLEC as a valued partner to Anguilla Summer Festival.”
With regard to the Calypso Monarch Show itself, Ms. Morson-Hodge specifically stated that they had set out to encourage the calypsonians to release early. As an incentive, to this end, ANGLEC is providing US$300 each for the first three calypsonians, in both the seniors and juniors divisions, who would release their songs early. In the Seniors category, three have already released their work. These are: Hot Shot, Decent and Baker Junior. In the Juniors category, the first three early release confirmations are: The Executor, De Gale and The Mighty Linger.
Mrs. Morson-Hodge announced that ANGLEC will be offering trivia prizes on the night of the competition, where two members of the audience would be able to walk away with an EC$500 voucher which would be applied to their next bill or bills, for correctly answering prescribed questions of a Calypso Show nature. This, it was thought, would serve as a special added feature to the show, as well as to provide bill-paying benefits for winners in the audience.
There will be 13 calypsonians contesting the semifinals on the night of Saturday, July 20th. From these, 8 will be selected for contesting in the finals — Calypso Monarch Show — on Tuesday night, August 6th, when they will be vying for the Crown held by the reigning monarch, King Springer. Meanwhile, the Junior Calypso Show will take place on the night of Friday, July 26th.
Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
