THE EDITOR: Okay, so 'Jouvay' is back in our hands, safely tucked away to wherever it goes after J'Ouvert morning, when the mud, oil, paint and chocolate are washed off by the standpipe, the hose, the river, the sea or in your tiled bathroom. What now? What are we going to do with it? Leave it to sleep until roused by Point Fortin, or Arima when they celebrate their Borough Day?

I am not getting into the cultural appropriation debate fray. Dara Healy's recent article in your newspaper handles this quite eloquently. We scolded Michael B Jordan. In return he begged our pardon and ended his Jouvay rum business initiative. The jury is out on whether we lost or won.

As an aside, is it considered cultural appropriation where food is concerned? How is this different for roti or doubles being sold in franchises in the US? What if a bake-and-shark, Maracas-style, opens up in Texas? And, what about the other hot potato? The steel pan! Where are we with that?

Attachment to anything that one holds sacrosanct will evoke strong emotional feelings that lash out, so is it any wonder that the response was swift and scathing?

My personal take is that we could have benefitted in some way. But was it Jordan's fault? It is said that he had a local partner. Are we outraged at the wrong person? I am not disapproving of anyone trying to build a business or brand, but is sensitivity taken into consideration by enterprising entrepreneurs?

My spin however is on the other side of the cultural appropriation coin, Halloween. Is this reverse cultural appropriation? This is observed in the US, Canada and other foreign cities, and those foreigners who now reside here continue to observe this tradition. Eventually, the local children began to participate in the activities.

I can't recall if voices were ever raised in condemnation of our children participating in this activity by the foreigners. There may have been some locals who frowned on it, but Halloween has now become a staple on our local calendar.

Suppose we take this one step further. Why not marry our traditions with Halloween? We have very colourful folklore characters. Perhaps instead of a pirate we could have a lagahoo or a Papa Bois? What about a fiery soucouyant or a bewitching La Diablesse? Isn't this how culture evolves? Our children would learn about these characters and get involved in making the costumes with the help of their parents. A fun activity for the whole family!

I remember when my granddaughter was celebrating her 11th birthday, her mother did not want the usual magician or clown. She wanted our folklore characters to provide the entertainment because she saw it as a learning experience as well. I totally agreed.

So I contacted Penny Spencer for accessing these characters and she did not disappoint. The children had a ball. They formed a conga line behind Dame Lorraine and followed her moves. My daughter also provided plain masks and beads which the children decorated themselves to wear in the 'jump-up.'

The parents too enjoyed it immensely.