Barbados Weekend Pan Celebrations: Republic Bank Pan Yard Lime at UWI and Pandemonium at National Botanical Gardens

It is a weekend of pan starting from today and ending on Sunday.

The Republic Bank Pan Yard Lime, in its second year, will be staged at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus under the UWI graduation tent and the marquee event, the Republic Bank Pandemonium, will be held at the National Botanical Gardens.

Today, patrons are invited to “come out, relax, lime after work, and just enjoy the sweet sounds of pan”. This is the invitation issued by the National Cultural Foundation’s (NCF) chief executive officer Carol Roberts.

Entertaining patrons tonight will be ten steel orchestras from communities and schools – a culmination of strides made in the NCF Pan In Schools project. They are Alleyne School, The Lodge School Steel Orchestra, Notes of Praise Steel Pan Orchestra, Church of the Nazarene Steel Pan Orchestra, Heart Aflame Youth Band, Combermere School, NIFCA Gold Awardee Christ Church Foundation Steel Orchestra, College Grads (previously the Barbados Community College Pan Ensemble), St Leonard’s Boys’ Secondary School and Daryll Jordan Secondary School.

Roberts said Sunday’s Pandemonium was a family-friendly outdoor event, the third staging in as many years.

“The National Botanical Gardens will become a musical paradise for that day,” she said, as she expressed gratitude to Republic Bank for its steadfast partnership for the golden anniversary of Crop Over and the past 30 years, harkening back to their days as Barbados National Bank.

Republic Bank, the title sponsor of the events again this year, has injected sponsorship valued at $176 000.

“By sponsoring the Republic Bank Pan Yard Lime and the Republic Bank Pandemonium events, we are playing a pivotal role in the preservation of this unique art form,” said outgoing managing director and chief executive officer Anthony Clark.

On Sunday, to make sure that the event runs smoothly, there will be a third stage and patrons can also look out for some of their Crop Over favourites performing with the various steel groups. Brucelee Almighty, Walkes, Lorenzo, Mikey, Nikita, Fadda Fox, Saddis, Biggie Irie, Lil Rick and Caribbean soca queen Alison Hinds will wow the audience, backed by the sweet sounds of pan. Also performing will be Calvary YPS Steel Band, St Leonard’s Band & Choir, the all-female group Dejavu, Phoenix Steel, ZigE Walcott and Black Peppa, Liam Teague, Boogsie & XLR Band, Euphony Steel, the Crop Over 50th Anniversary Iron Massive Steel, an even bigger Republic Bank Steel Band and the NCF’s Barbados National Youth Steel Orchestra. (PR/NS)