High Chief Edem Duke, a former Minister of Tourism and leader of Calas Vagas band, has said he and his team will strive to keep the spirit of Calabar Carnival alive.
High Chief Duke, who led the band to victory for the second successive year, while giving this assurance during a victory party for his band in Calabar, attributed the victory of his band to a number of factors, including the willingness of the young people to be mentored and their ability to understand the theme of the carnival.
“We must just keep the spirit of the carnival alive, winning is just an extra thing but the collaboration, and intensiveness of performance and creativity, the entire dynamics is something that we will continue to sustain.
“There’s no secret to this, other than committing yourself to the very best of creative potential, utilization of personnel, interpretation of the theme , and the general aggregation of all the inherent talents within the band.
“In addition, the willingness of the young men and women to be tutored, choreographed and then to understand the content of the spirit of the season helped us in manifesting as the best brand this season,” he said.
The 2024 Carnival from all indications came out bigger and more competitive, an outcome consistent with Governor Otu ‘s promise to grow the event year to year, Duke enthused.
According to him, the innovations introduced and the decentralization of the carnival to Ikom and Ogoja is a good decision as this will make the content continue to grow.
