Dr. Kevin Herbert receives his prize from Culture Minister Stephen Lashley, while from left, NCF CEO Cranston Browne, BPWCCUL Cedric Murrell, his mother Avril Herbert, BPWCCUL Marketing Officer Tracia Pounder and Finance Manager, Capita Financial Terry Bonnett look on.
Small deficit recorded
“In Foreday morning there has been growth in that as well, and Grand Kadooment and Soca Royale performed credibly as well but overall I can say we are pleased with the performance. We can do with a bit more sponsorship dollars as well that is why the reality about managing Crop Over must be thorough, that we have wherever possible to ensure that the festival is managed and not incur a deficit.”
“Our sponsors look at managing their finances in a way that they are going to be much more scrupulous in terms of sponsorship dollars, we are forced to come up with innovative approaches to assure that we can get as many paying patrons as possible and ensure that Crop Over can at least break even or even make a surplus.”
He noted that the Lot 5 for 50 competition, which was held to coincide with the island’s 50th anniversary of independence was designed to ramp up gate receipts. “I thought it did, because we saw increased number across many of our events, but of course we are going to be looking to do more to ensure we bring about the result that we want.”
Chief Executive Officer of the NCF Cranston Browne assured that a meeting with stakeholders will take place next week to discuss changes in 2017.
“They are looking at ways to incorporate the public more into Crop Over so you will be hearing some exciting things about what we are doing, not only in terms of door prizes, but getting the public involved in some of the events.” He also pointed out that out of the 30 events held for Crop Over only five are paid events.
Minister Lashley while congratulating the winner on his win of approximately 5 000 square feet of land, stressed this would not have been possible without sponsors Barbados Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union and Capita Financial.
“This is truly an indication of the level of corporate interest and collaboration that is coming on board in terms of Crop over. We would like to encourage that because Crop Over is a national festival and Barbados needs to have every amount of support that we can get to ensure that Crop Over can grow as we have planned every year.” (JH)