It has been 29 years since pan was declared the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, and since then, every August Pan Trinbago commemorates Pan Month with a series of events. This year, though, because of the restrictions imposed by the covid19 pandemic, all planned events are largely virtual.
The month-long celebrations began on August 1 with a video on the organisation's Facebook page and YouTube channel of the late Ursula Tudor, who died on July 21 and who was Desperadoes’ longest-standing female pan player, and continues with a variety of webinars and other online events.
The virtual celebrations bring pan sharply into focus in a rapidly changing world, and Pan Trinbago president Beverly Ramsey-Moore is looking toward how pan fits into it. She said one of the things the organisation is looking at as it goes forward is a virtual Panorama.
Because of the challenges posed by the pandemic, Ramsey-Moore said the entertainment sector and Pan Trinbago will have to find new ways of providing entertainment, and that is where a possible virtual Panorama comes in.
[caption id="attachment_906275" align="alignnone" width="932"] Pan Trinbago President Beverly Ramsey-Moore. - ANGELO_MARCELLE[/caption]
“Whether it means, is it that we are not going to have a Panorama next year? But with more people vaccinated and so on can we have a virtual Panorama?”
Ramsey-Moore believes it it possible with some adjustments.
“So we have to reinvent or re-engineer Panorama to fit into a virtual world. In terms of our events, that is something we are also looking at,” including possibly having to decrease the number of players in the large bands category.
Ramsey-Moore said despite the challenging times brought on by the pandemic the organisation is doing its best to ensure that it keeps its members up-to-date and ensure that it provides entertainment for pan enthusiasts throughout TT and the world.
At the moment, she said, the entire entertainment industry is on pause, but Pan Trinbago has been using this downtime to develop its pillars of sustainability.
The organisation has been focused on economic sustainability, using tools like its recently reopened drum factory to generate income. It has been receiving orders, she said, in preparation for the reopen of the entertainment industry.
Pan Trinbago's agricultural thrust, Plant Trinbagrow, is another way the organisation plans to further generate income. The objective of the project is to grow crops, package then and sell then under a Pan Trinbago label. But, Ramsey-Moore said, actually getting the project off the ground has been hampered by the pandemic. She is instead hoping to have that up and running in 2022.
[caption id="attachment_906274" align="alignnone" width="638"] Pan Trinbago president Beverly Ramsey-Moore assists in clearing the land at unfinished Pan Trinbago headquarters building in Trincity. -[/caption]
A land management committee has already been appointed, but because the organisation was unable to raise any revenue from Panorama (its main re
