PRESIDENT of the Clement Payne Movement, David Comissiong, says Crop-Over is becoming way too sexual and commercialised.

He told the DAILY NATION yesterday he was concerned with the direction in which the festival was going as there was a "battle on for the hearts, minds, and souls" of the youth.

"Young people are attracted to this superficial attraction of sex and violence. We have to capture their attention equally in an appealing and exciting and attractive way. I regret that the National Cultural Foundation, which should be into the cultural development of Barbados, doesn't fully recognise what the struggle is all about. There are part of the problem and not the solution," he said.

The former head of the Commission for Pan African Affairs also wanted to see the six-week festival returned to the community.

"I was one of those consistently in the plantation yard to witness the ceremonial delivery of the last canes. I remember when Crop-Over had many elements of an authentic folk festival, truly reflecting something true about the Barbadian people's history and culture and heritage.

"Over the years, we have moved away from that. The festival has become very much centred on pure entertainment and profit-making and one of the things that really sells is sex. The festival has come to take on a very heavy sexual connotation which, in a superficial way, makes it attractive to many people, including many tourists," said Comissiong.

He also observed the festival had become "a very commercialised money spinner".

Last year, Director of the Pinelands Creative Workshop, Rodney Grant, expressed concern about the evolution of the festival and said the community aspect of it had been replaced with "a commercialised version which we now call the Cavalcades", which did not create the avenues for communities to be involved.

(DS)