Domnik ki dou carnival opens

Dominica's carnival, Mas Domnik, began his afternoon with a blast of colour, the sound of lapau kabwit, the scary faces of darkies, the cloud-touching (seemingly) stilt walkers, the beautiful queen-hopefuls and thousands of spectators who crowded the sidewalks enjoying the three-hour free show.

The parade begun about 3.00pm, near DBS Radio on Victoria Street, Roseau and ended at the Eddie Andre Carnival City in Pottersville.

Noticeably, the Dominica Festival Commission, commendably, named the 2017 carnival centre after the late Eddie Andre, the steelpan enthusiast, but there were no steelpan players in the parade.

At the speech-giving section of the street show, at the Eddie Andre Carnival City, at the end of the parade, Robert Tonge, the minister of tourism, indulged in a bit of hyperbole by naming Dominica "the sweetest country in the world" probably because the theme of this year's carnival is "Domnik ki dou".

As he invited tourist to visit Dominica for carnival, he also declared that the island "is one of the safest in the world". Additionally, Tonge promised revelers one of the best carnivals in recent times since more costume bands will be on display during the Monday and Tuesday street parades.

That should not be difficult since the Government of Dominica has doubled its annual subvention, from $360,000 to $720,000. The extra cash, from the Citizenship by Investment programme will be used in promotion and marketing, Tonge said.

By the way, Tonge opined during his speech that Dominica's CBI "was the best run in the Caribbean" even as the opposition United Workers Party is of the view that it is the most opaque and corrupt and therefore plans a huge demonstration against the CBI next week.

Carnival 2017 is scheduled to be held in Dominica on 27 and 28 February.