It will be a Grand Kadooment in Hollywood.
That’s because director of the Kadooment band Kontact, Anthony Layne, will be showcasing the island’s premier festival event when he takes a costumed section of his popular band, along with a contingent of Barbadian revellers, to participate in Hollywood Carnival next year.
At the major Hollywood event, the Barbados masqueraders will partner with Extacy Mas, the premier carnival band in Hollywood, California, United States.
That band will in turn be in Barbados parading with Kontact at Kadooment 2019.
Layne, a veteran bandleader, said at a Press conference yesterday it was part of his efforts to make the Crop Over brand globally recognisable, and to attract visitors from around the globe to the Barbados festival.
Layne said the trip, from June 19 to 26, billed as Take Me To Hollywood Carnival 2019, would be a round-trip, all-inclusive package from Barbados to Hollywood, with an eight-day stay at the downtown Hollywood hotel Standard.
The package includes airfare, Hollywood carnival passes to four events, and a tour of Hollywood, all coordinated through DMA Value Vacations. It is estimated to cost US$2 850. Package deals would also be extended to Kontact patrons who live in the United States and United Kingdom.
Kontact band has been participating in Kadooment for more than 20 years and is one of the longest-standing Crop Over bands in Barbados.
Over the years it has attracted masqueraders from several countries, including Ethiopia, Ghana and Australia.
Layne said his focus was to get more people here for the Crop Over Festival. (GC)
