Kids to have own carnival |07 March 2014

Children in Seychelles will be able to have fun in a carnival especially for them in April this year.

Well known singer and soca dancer Lima Calbio from Trinidad and Tobago, in collaboration with the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) will be organising this first ever kid’s carnival on Sunday April 27, 2014 at the Freedom Square.

This was announced in a press conference yesterday at the Ministry of Tourism and Culture’s headquarters in Victoria.

The kid’s carnival, which will be for schoolchildren aged 5 to 12 years, will start at 1pm and all those taking part will parade inside the Freedom Square compound and not in the streets of Victoria. This activity will be a follow up to the main Carnaval International de Victoria which will take place the day before.

Thanking Miss Calbio for the initiative, the deputy chief executive of the STB, Nathalie Didon, said the aim of the kid’s carnival is to bring new extra flavour to the fourth Carnaval International de Victoria.

She said the kid’s carnival will be used to promote environment friendly initiatives, where kids from schools taking part will be encouraged to use recycled materials such as paper, plastic, to prepare their costumes.

She also said that they want to inculcate in the young generation the importance of promoting their culture and way of life through the carnival so that they will feel a sense of belonging and hopefully take part in future carnivals.

Miss Calbio, who has taken part in all carnivals organised in Seychelles for the past three years, said that her country (Trinidad and Tobago) also organises kid’s carnivals and this has prompted her to come forward with the idea of organising one here.

She said that a theme will be given for the teachers and children to work on but they can come up with themes of their own for she wants it to be a school project.

She said that by using recycled materials it will make the whole project not so expensive.  

There will be attractive prices to be won for different categories such as best costumes, best group, biggest group, etc.

But before the kid’s carnival itself, Miss Calbio said she is hoping to organise an outdoor kid’s show, maybe one week before the Carnaval International de Victoria, where kids could come to sing and dance with her on stage, but a date and venue for this activity is yet to be decided.

STB will be sending forms to primary schools and is also asking any individuals or companies who would like to sponsor the kid’s carnival to contact the STB.

Their contributions could be used to buy water, soft drinks, pay for transportation and any other logistics.

The organisers said they want the children to have fun and enjoy themselves.