Creative Industries and Culture Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire has urged responsible behaviour as Saint Lucia enters the final stretch of the Carnival season.
At the same time, Hilaire, whose responsibilities include tourism, acknowledged that there could be no Carnival without ‘some bacchanal’.
“The bam bam wall will surface again. A lot of those issues will confront us once again as a society,” the Minister told reporters.
Archbishop Gabriel Malzaire had penned a review of last year’s Carnival expressing shock at the ‘absolute vulgarity’ on display in many street bands and the ‘bam bam wall’.
Citing the scriptures, he declared that anything demeaning to the dignity of the human person is unworthy of public display.
According to the clergyman, Carnival or any human celebration should not be an excuse for any form of licentiousness.
In a similar vein, Dr. Hilaire urged restraint.
“I need to take this opportunity to appeal to all Saint Lucians to be responsible in their behaviour. In what they drink and their conduct on the roads and of course to ensure that we do not have any acts of indiscipline or violence or crime,” the Minister said.
“Carnival is not an excuse for any licentious behaviour, any unacceptable behaviour. It is not an opportunity for you to get as drunk as possible. It is not about that. It’s about having clean fun,” Hilaire asserted.
“It’s about celebrating life, our culture, our identity and who we are as a people,” he stated.
In addition, Hilaire disclosed that Saint Lucia had recorded strong numbers for the event, making it almost impossible to get a hotel room or a flight into the country despite adding new flights for that period.
“So we are expecting Carnival to be the biggest carnival that we have had, again topping 2019,” the Castries South MP declared.
