May 18, 2006 – The Carnival Committee has declared V.I. Carnival 2006 a "smashing success" and is ready to "put on Carnival 2007," said Caswil Callender, following the committee's post-event debriefing.
The committee did acknowledge the parade took too long and Callender said the committee had tossed around several ideas on how to resolve that next year, but he said the general consensus was that the annual nearly monthlong event was successful.
There were some disappointments along the way, Callender, Carnival executive director, noted in an interview recently.
"Attendance was down at the paid events," which included the Prince and Princess Selection Show, The Queen Selection Show, and the two Calypso events.
And there was some grousing about the discontinuation of Latin Night and the water sports events. The fireworks, which cost upwards of $50,000 have also been missing the last few years. They were traditionally sponsored by Knight Quality Stations.
Callender said it was lack of money that drove the decision to eliminate the three popular events.
"Latin night is very expensive," Callender said, "and economically it's a loser."
The water sports event is also expensive. He said boat owners don't want to bring their expensive boats to race in the harbor unless the prize money is good. And it is. Callender said the prize money runs to $25,000. But with no sponsor, the committee has to pick up the full amount.
Aside from the four paid events, the committee puts on several free events, which include the Toddlers' Derby, the Carnival at the Schneider Regional Medical Center, Cruzan's Cultural Night (King and Queen of the Band) and the Steelband Jamboree.
Even the sponsored events, such as Cruzan King and Queen of the Band night, end up costing the Carnival committee. "In most cases sponsorship doesn't cover the full cost of activities," Callender says, noting that public address systems need to be rented, bands need to be paid, and security needs to be hired.
Callender says Carnival costs about $800,000 to produce. The committee received an allotment from the Tourism budget of $350,000 this year. The remainder is raised through paid events, vendor fees and sponsorship.
Callender says the $350,000 "is a drop in the bucket" compared to what Carnival brings in.
Louis M. Willis, director of the Internal Revenue Bureau, used the figure $65 million recently when talking about what the event brings in revenues to the territory.
Hotels are booked, wedding planners are overloaded, and not a rental car can be had, especially during the last few days when the parades take place.
Florist Lorna Webster, owner of Blooming Things, said this year she had four weddings on Friday and six the Saturday of Adult Parade. "And these aren't Virgin Islanders coming home to get married," Webster said. "They are tourists."
She said they come because they can combine their wedding with other Carnival events.
One of the strategies, Callender says, is to start earlier this year to secure sponsorships, "if not locally, then nationally."
He thinks it's time for some of the local companies with national affiliations, like K-mart, to start offering more support.
Current sponsors include: Avis, Coca-Cola, Cruzan Rum distributed by Premier Wines and Spirits, Heineken, distributed by Bellows International, MSI Building Supplies, Marianne, and Palms Court Harborview Hotel.
But he said a key to sponsorship will be the Inspector General's audit. "If people are convinced there were not any irregularities, even those who used that for an excuse [for not providing sponsorship money], will no longer have that excuse."
Controversy in the last year over how the committee handles its money has been blamed in several quarters for the lackluster participation in all events this year. After arguments between some members of the Legislature and the Carnival committee resulted in a stalemate, and after Inspector General Steven van Beverhoudt said the accounting done by someone engaged by the committee was insufficient to meet the rigid requirements of an official audit, van Beverhoudt agreed to do his own through his office. Work has begun, but van Beverhoudt couldn't say when it would be completed.
Meanwhile Carnival is organized and executed by a team of 150-175 unpaid volunteers. Only two people receive salaries for their labors: Callender and administrative assistant Denise Smith.
No matter how much exactly is brought into the territory's coffers by Carnival, it is without doubt the largest activity that takes place in the Virgin Islands.
And arguably the most colorful, creative and culturally correct. Modern-day carnival celebrated its 50-year anniversary in 2002.
Callender, who had an entire career as a computer programmer for the Finance Department before taking on his full-time responsibilities at the helm of the Carnival Committee is not concerned, he says, about any wrongdoing being laid at his feet.
And even after 11 years and the recent bumps in the road he is still enthusiastic. He says he would like to bring back Latin Night, water sports and the fireworks, but he's still satisfied with the product.
"When I'm out there and I see all the happy people … it makes me remember there's a purpose to why I'm here."
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