Queen of the Crop Philomene Stuart (left) and King of the Crop Grantley Hurley standing with Minister of Culture Steve Blackett after receiving thousands of dollars for their hard labour this season. Nine-time-winner Hurley cut 291.73 tonnes of cane and Stuart 184.45 tonnes. (CP)

TENDERS will go out for next year's staging of some of Crop-Over's festivities, but Government will look to put more money into the culture sector.

Minister of Culture Steve Blackett made the announcement yesterday when he declared Crop-Over officially open at the Opening Gala in Queen's Park, The City.

"Government is committed to finding sources of funding for the very critical exercise of quantifying the value of the culture sector.

"Government believes that our success in achieving the festival's fullest possible development, will be dependent on our taking it back to the communities, back to the people of Barbados.

Fuller participation

"Rest assured, however, that by next year, tenders for the staging of some of these will be invited, making way for fuller shareholder participation and ownership," he said.

He said while calypso tents and masquerade bands received increased subventions and prize monies, the ministry was also considering "the enhancement of awards for the King and Queen of the Crop for the 2008 season".

In addition, he said there would have to be inter-ministerial co-operation between the Ministries of Education, Trade, Finance and Foreign Affairs to make "a paradigm shift" in the development of the cultural industries and the economic potential, especially for the NIFCA programme and the youth.

Train stage managers

"What is needed urgently, is the creation of a cadre of young entrepreneurs, trained specifically in the areas of expertise demanded by the cultural industries, among others.

"We need to train stage managers, lighting experts, graphic designers, fashion designers, choreographers and many more.

"We need to develop among our young people a culture of dynamic, innovative, entrepreneurship. We need to produce people . . . [who] recognise that their creativity and their innovation can have a viable economic value," he said. (TM)