In the end, eight DJ’s have clearly survived their rounds according to the judges. These DJ’s are Roots La, Thurum, DJ Quanie, DJ Alsnow, DJ Chubby, Fireman, Mega B and Mitek. However, three spots have been reserved, one for a people’s choice finalist and the judges wildcard, as well as last year’s winner DJ Spy Kid, which will bring the total number of finalists to eleven.

The winner of Sunday’s competition will receive EC$5,000, a trophy, Heineken product for a year and a chance to go up against the Heineken Green Synergy champion of St. Vincent.

This Sunday’s event will feature a number of guest performers and DJ’s as well as loads of giveaways and specials from Heineken. Gates at the venue will be open from 2 PM Sunday.

This is the seventh edition of the Heineken Green Synergy DJ Competition under the brands Heineken Music tag.

The first Piton Calendar was launched in 1992, and since then it has become a most sought after item annually adorning the walls of homes, pubs and bars, not just locally but overseas as well. However this year fans of the calendar were somewhat disappointed when no new calendar was issued and the company took a break to revamp the process. But come 2011 the ever popular Piton Calendar is expected to be back and better than before.  According to Piton brand manager Germaine Serieux the company is calling on girls from all over the island to participate in what can become a life changing moment. “By becoming the one chosen for the calendar not only will the winner receive a contract as the Piton Calendar girl, but will also have the opportunity to represent the brand and various events, which can lead to other opportunities,” Serieux says. He added that Piton is looking for someone who exudes all that the beer represents; the island, its beauty, its people, its culture, its history and excellence.

Interested ladies must be eighteen years and over and should submit a full body profile photo and one head profile shot, along with their name, age and contact information to  info@boldinkdesign.com or at our Windward and Leeward Brewery  Limited offices at Vide Bouteille or Vieux Fort. Deadline for submissions is September 03, 2010.

The winner will be announced in the local media and all information submitted will remain confidential and private and will be for the sole purpose of Piton Calendar and WLBL.

In the end, Team Climbers came out victorious winning a grand prize of $50,000. Team Climbers were a front running team from the onset, winning five out of nine milestones. The five milestones won by Team Climbers were:

Milestone # 2 Government Regulations

Milestone # 5 Market strategy

Milestone # 6 Product Development and Refinement

Milestone # 8 Business Plan and Budget

Milestone # 9 Finance

The final judging process to determine The Big Start winner was based on 30% of the judges’ assessment, 30% on the ninth milestone and 40% on public voting. In the final analysis, Team Climbers succeeded over Team COTA. After their win, Severin Francois, one of two brothers who make up Team Climbers, stated, “We are so ecstatic and grateful to have won The Big Start. We worked hard and are very pleased that our hard work paid off.”  He further believes that “This process has been a fantastic learning experience as we were able to put into practice much of what we learnt at school. While the concepts were similar, it is important to practically apply the theory and really understand how business start up works. We are very thankful to Accela and the Office of Private Sector Relations for putting this whole initiative together as it is such an opportunity for young St. Lucians, and we are pleased to have been a part of it.”

‘The Big Start’ was the first of its kind to be locally produced and aired in Saint Lucia and was presented by the Office of Private Sector Relations (OPSR) and produced by Accela Marketing. The format of the show featured 10 teams who were selected out of 40 teams to participate in this reality series focusing on taking a big dream and making it a viable business. The selected teams were assigned a milestone each week for completion, with a mentor assigned to each team. At the completion of these milestones, teams faced  the judging panel and every week one team was eliminated. The Big Start was hosted by young entrepreneur, Jodi Boodhoo, with a panel of judges, including Mae Wayne, Managing Director of the Star Publishing, Thaddeus Antoine partner of Francis and Antoine Chambers, Marie Piazza, Owner/Manager of Sportivo, and Andre Chastanet, Managing Director of Consolidated Foods Ltd., alongside a number of other guest judges all of whom were in attendance to witness the final team win their Big Start.

All of the participating teams were also present at the final ceremony to watch the winning team emerge. Many of the teams themselves won prizes for their own successes with the Milestones and all teams will receive special prizes from the OPSR for participating. The OPSR congratulates Team Climbers and all other participants for having the courage, passion, creativity and work ethic to be a part of this exciting new initiative and hope that all St. Lucians have learned a lot by viewing the show and understanding the various milestones necessary to start a new business. For the OPSR, whose particular focus is on MAKING ST. LUCIA ENTERPRISING, this initiative, under the SFA 2005 STRIDE, programme was a great success.

Scruffy TV came to greater recognition in 2010 when it consistently broadcast all St. Lucia Carnival events which was made possible through the Cultural Development Foundation and its partners.

Despite all the rumored controversy surrounding this years St. Lucia Carnival Carpet Media SLU through Scruffy TV was able to keep its promise to many viewers by showcasing one of St. Lucia Greatest events Carnival.

It was through many requests for more content from viewers that the idea of a support Channel came about.

“Not only will viewers be able to get more content available On-Demand but also broadcast quality, interface and more consistent live events will be upgraded by Carpet Media SLU to meet our many viewers requests. We are currently building our on-demand content on this channel.” says CEO Greggar Deterville.

Scruffy TV is definitely becoming a household name in St.Lucia and specially abroad. Persons unable to come home can get a chance to watch events and other activities live online via Scruffy TV. No where in the Caribbean are we seeing a medium operating at such levels.

The new support channel can be found at http://www.scruffytv.com/ by clicking on the relative tab.

Towards this end, the Government of Saint Lucia has decided on the following:

1. To commission a consultancy that will conduct an in-depth and comprehensive study of Saint Lucia Carnival. This would involve the preparation and submission of a report that will include the formulation of recommendations for future planning.

1. The staging of a National Symposium which will target all key stakeholders, interest groups and resources agencies/persons including representatives of: Carnival Bands, Calypso, Private Sector/Sponsors, Community Carnival Organisers, Marketing Agencies, Steelband, Musicians, Carnival Enthusiast, etc. This symposium will focus on discussing the Consultant’s report and will also undertake an evaluation of Carnival 2010. The major stakeholders will be encouraged to present discussion papers that will guide discussion at the Symposium. One of the major outputs of the proposed Symposium would be a plan of action for “The Way Forward” that would pave the way for development of viable and sustainable carnival product.

The Government of Saint Lucia assures all Saint Lucians of its commitment and support for the growth and development of Carnival and Creative Industries. This commitment has been evidenced by the unprecedented allocation of EC $1. Million towards Carnival festivities over a three year period, 2007 to 2009. Government extended this support by providing a further allocation of EC $1. Million for Carnival 2010.

In addition to its support for Carnival, Government in the past months provided a sum of EC $437,533.53 to the Cultural Development Foundation for the payment of outstanding debts. Government has also provided support to various local artiste amounting to EC $441,962.17 under the special allocation of $1.5 Million for assistance to Creative Industries.

The Government of Saint Lucia commends all Saint Lucians for their support in ensuring the success of Carnival 2010.  Despite the planning and organizational challenges which surfaced, Government is gratified by the high level of discipline, enthusiasm and participation displayed by Saint Lucians. Government is further pleased by the fact that the 2010 Carnival was conducted largely incident free. Government takes this opportunity to also commend all those who worked assiduously to ensure the smooth execution of Carnival 2010. These include: the Police, the Staff of the Cultural Development Foundation, Castries City Council Sanitation Workers, Carnival Band Leaders, the Executive of the Interim Calypso Association, Judges and all other major contributors.

Government is appreciative of the input made by all these entities. We look forward to the further support and participation of all as we seek to chart the way forward for a viable and sustainable Saint Lucian Carnival product.

Sugar Minott will be missed.

You can watch the last known interview with Sugar below as he talks about ‘Holding on to Jah.’

source: Natasha Von Castle www.l3magazine.com

This decision was arrived at due to concerns by Helen Television System that the name Mas on the Square should not be used or form part of the name for the event jointly organized by the Government of Saint Lucia, the Home Coming Secretariat, the Cultural Development Foundation and Lucian Mas Events.

A search carried out at the Registry of Companies determined that the name “Mas on the Square” was not registered and the current organizers were therefore under no obligations to accede to the request by Helen Television System. Nonetheless, the organizers of Home Coming Mas On the Square have decided to rename the event to Home Coming Mas Jam.

The decision was arrived at in good spirit and to avoid any controversy which may have emanated from the use of the original name for the 2010 event. All Saint Lucians and visitors are invited to participate in he promised entertainment and excitement of Home Coming Mas Jam 2010 which has been organized as a replacement to the traditional Mas on the Square.

“This serves to once again clarify that HTS/Radio 100 the organizers and owners of the Mas on the Square brand will not be staging this event this year due to lack of sponsorship support. The event while exclusive to and the brain child of HTS/Radio 100 has been sanctioned by the CDF, which from time to time has made a financial contribution in cash and or kind. This year they were not able to provide any support.

After several planning meetings with the CDF and the unavailability of sponsorship from a presenting sponsor, both CDF and HTS/Radio 100 agreed that we would rather not ruin the good reputation of this iconic product, and as a result would sit this one out for 2010. This we informed the public of last Friday by way of a press release.

Now has come word on the ground and by way of announcement at the different carnival events, that Mas on the Square is on and will be executed by a newly formed committee . HTS,  as the owners of this event, have not been informed officially of the plans to host any event.

Whereas HTS applauds efforts to ensure that Carnival 2010 lives up to the expectations of the public, HTS emphasizes that the Mas on the Square brand should not be used in any way without its consent and approval.

Again we wish to remind all that the HTS organized event Mas on Square will not be staged this year and we take this opportunity to wish the new players all the very best with the staging of their event.”

Valerie Albert

Executive Producer/Coordinator

Mas on the Square

As a result of this announcement, Government has been approached by private parties who were concerned of the impact that the non staging of the Pre-Carnival event would have on the Carnival atmosphere and product. In order to safeguard the quality and image of the Carnival product, the Government of Saint Lucia through the Cultural Development Foundation and the Saint Lucian Home Coming 2010 Secretariat has decided to collaborate with Lucian Mas Events  in staging the popular Pre-Carnival entertainment event at Derek Walcott Square. This year’s event under the new management arrangement will be called: “Home Coming Mas Jam”.

Home Coming Mas Jam is so labeled to create a direct link with Saint Lucian Home Coming 2010, which will be staged for a two week period from July 16^th to August 1^st, 2010. Hundred of Saint Lucians are expected to converge on the island to participate both in Carnival and Home Coming 2010 activities.

The activities for Home Coming Mas Jam will include performances by major entertainers like: Ricky T, Alpha, Q-Pid, Ila Man, Superman HD, DJ HP and many others. Home Coming Mas Jam promises to be a major cultural and entertainment spectacle which will help to add spice and flavor to “Lucian Carnival 2010”. Prime Minister Stephenson King who returned to the island over the weekend has committed his personal support to ensure the success of what has become a tradition for Carnival lovers – Saint Lucians and visitors alike. Home Coming Mas Jam will be staged at the Derek Walcott Square on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, July 13^th, 14^th, 15^th and 17^th, 2010.

The detailed schedule is as follows:

• Tuesday, July 13^th, 2010  -  6:00 to 11:00 pm.
• Wednesday, July 14^th, 2010  -  12:00 noon to 3:00 pm and 6:30 to 11:00 pm.
• Thursday, July 15^th, 2010  -  12:00 noon to 3:00 pm and 6:30 to 11:00 pm; and
• Saturday, July 17^th, 2010  -  10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

A special meeting involving representatives of the Cultural Development Foundation, the Home Coming Secretariat, Lucian Mas Events and the Office of the Prime Minister, has been scheduled for Monday, July 12^th, 2010 to finalize arrangements for this event. The planning committee is determined to ensure that Home Coming Mas Jam is delivered as a high quality product. Guided by the Saint Lucian Home Coming 2010 theme: “Tout Sent Lisyen se Yonn”, Home Coming Mas Jam will be executed as a successful and enjoyable mas on the square, 2010.