CPL Cricket Carnival kicks off with electrifying concerts next week

The Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry, in collaboration with Hits and Jams Entertainment, on Wednesday unveiled its Genesis and Utopia Band launch, which would be opening one of the country’s events to be hosted, the Caribbean Premier League’s (CPL’s) Cricket Carnival.

Kicking off these exciting activities are a string of concerts slated for May 25– 29. The first concert will be the Cooler Touchdown Party, followed by the Baderation Dancehall Mega Concert, the Eldorado Stinging Nettles Concert, the Stink and Duty J’Ouvert, Eden the gold and white Toga Party, and then the final event: the Soca and Wine Party.
These concerts will be headlined by soca, dancehall and chutney’s latest trending artistes, such as Kes and the Band, Patrice Roberts Skeng, Shaneil Muir, Young Bredda, Gully Ras, cKush, Drew Thoven, Vanilla, Nessa, Vicadi Singh, Tony Cuttz, Ravi B, Kenneth Salick, and Heat Wave and Fame band.
“We want Guyana to come out, have a good time; it’s gonna be nice, clean entertainment. It’s great fun. We know that we’ve been in for a long time, we’ve coming out now piece by piece, but I think we’ll be able to come out in full fledge come the 25 to the 29,” explained Executive Director of HJ Entertainment, Kerwin Bollers, during the launch.
Since the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions amid a slowdown in infections, the Guyanese party life has been resuscitated, with a variety of concerts and events already being hosted. The CPL Cricket Carnival is considered the most hyped, being highly anticipated not only by cricket fans, but by diehard revellers as well.
Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr explained that the events would promote and display Guyana’s uniqueness. He also noted that the concerts would prove that the country is capable of hosting world-class events.
“Guyana is a unique country… As we evolve, as we transition in this period, and the country begins to transform the pride and the uniqueness of Guyanese people, it must show itself to the world in a very elaborate way,” he said.
“The Government of Guyana has established…as part of an overall vision of where we go, of creating this premier destination in the region for world class events.
“It was important decision for us to have made at that time to secure CPL finals and semifinals, and to pair it with the carnival to create this brand call Cricket Carnival,” the Minister further noted.
Executive Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Kamrul Baksh, also noted that events of this magnitude not only promote local tourism, but have the ability to improve and enhance coordination, integration and harmony regionally, as well as nationally.
“Important consideration for such an event of this magnitude is its ability to improve or enhance coordination, integration and harmony regionally, as well as nationally,” he said.
“The Cricket Carnival concept and the construct of it will unify people and industries across Caricom region and other countries.
“The concept alone is not only for tourism, but it’s much broader; and this is something I think the Government of Guyana has been leading exceptionally well,” he explained.
Representatives of sponsors of the event, which include Demerara Distillers Limited, Banks DIH Limited, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GTT), Ansa McAL Limited, Church’s Chicken and Fireside Grill and Chill, all expressed their excitement to be part of the events which are showing great promise.
Persons are encouraged to purchase tickets from only the ticketing outlets. Tickets come with security features such as bar codes, among other things, to avoid being fraudulently produced.