Antigua’s Carnival has lost its soul, says Rastafari Elder

By Sharon N Simon

Antigua and Barbuda’s Festivals Commission is in talks with Emancipation Watch Night organisers to draw more young people to the observance, addressing concerns that Carnival has drifted away from its historical roots.
The discussions, in a recent publication, aim to modernise the event’s programming and outreach without losing its significance as a marker of the end of slavery in the Caribbean. They come as at least one Rastafari elder has publicly argued that Carnival as a whole no longer reflects emancipation in any meaningful way.
Speaking on Observer AM this week, Ras Icern said Antigua’s Carnival carries no theme, criteria or programming tying it to emancipation, despite falling around August 1st, the anniversary of abolition. He said the festival has instead followed Trinidad’s commercialised, pre-Lenten model, and pointed to the rise of mass-produced T-shirt mas’ costuming, which he said favours sensationalized display over the artistry of designers from his youth, such as the late Alister Thomas.
Icern proposed building emancipation-themed criteria directly into judged Carnival competitions, so calypso and pageant entries would be scored partly on how they engage with emancipation and resistance to colonial history. He also criticised the scheduling of this year’s Watch Night, held July 31st, which falls the same night as the Calypso Monarch finals and runs into J’ouvert morning, saying the overlap leaves the observance overshadowed by larger, competing events.
According to reports, the Festivals Commission’s outreach reflects a broader institutional effort to keep Watch Night relevant to younger generations while preserving its place in the national calendar. The report did not specify what new programming or outreach measures are under consideration, and further details were not immediately available.
Icern’s own proposal goes further than outreach alone. He said Watch Night has been organised in recent years chiefly by Antigua and Barbuda’s Reparation Committee, which includes Rastafari representation through members such as Ras Kiyode Erasto, but has operated largely as a “fringe group” alongside the main Carnival programme rather than as part of it. He argued that folding the observance directly into the official Carnival calendar, rather than running it as a parallel event, would give it the institutional backing needed to compete for attention against Calypso finals and J’ouvert.
The Commission’s talks suggest organisers share Icern’s underlying concern about youth engagement, even if the two efforts have so far proceeded on separate tracks. The report fell short of saying whether the Commission’s discussions include the Reparation Committee or address the scheduling conflict Icern raised.
Icern said he believes a more integrated, better-advertised Watch Night could draw wider regional interest, including from Rastafari communities elsewhere in the Caribbean, strengthening rather than diminishing Antigua’s standing as one of the region’s premier Carnival destinations.
Neither the Festivals Commission nor Carnival organisers have publicly responded to the broader critique that the festival has lost its connection to emancipation. The Commission’s talks with Watch Night organisers remain ongoing, according to reports, with no timeline given for their conclusion.