Minister prioritises Best Village competitions

RAD­HI­CA DE SIL­VA

Se­nior Mul­ti­me­dia Re­porter

rad­hi­[email protected]

The Gov­ern­ment is promis­ing a stronger, more ac­ces­si­ble Prime Min­is­ter’s Best Vil­lage Tro­phy Com­pe­ti­tion in 2026, even as it main­tains a tight rein on spend­ing.

Speak­ing at the prize-giv­ing cer­e­mo­ny for 2025 win­ners at the South­ern Acad­e­my For The Per­form­ing Arts, San Fer­nan­do, yes­ter­day, Cul­ture Min­is­ter Michelle Ben­jamin said al­though the pro­gramme will re­main “bud­get con­scious,” mean­ing­ful im­prove­ments are com­ing.

These in­clude greater ac­cess to com­mu­ni­ty cen­tres, free PTSC trans­port for par­tic­i­pat­ing groups and pos­si­bly, high­er prize mon­ey.

“Yes, I know it costs to be in this hall, and it costs to be on those stages and to get your chil­dren here. So we are try­ing to be bud­get-con­scious while still de­liv­er­ing mean­ing­ful im­pact,” Ben­jamin said.

She added to loud ap­plause, “As we look for­ward to 2026, I am try­ing my best to in­crease what is in those en­velopes.”

Ben­jamin de­scribed the com­pe­ti­tion as “the heart of cul­ture” in T&T.

“For over six decades, it has car­ried our sto­ries, our songs, our dances, our the­atre… our pride, from vil­lage to vil­lage. Best Vil­lage is not just a com­pe­ti­tion. It is na­tion-build­ing,” she said.

Among the im­prove­ments out­lined for 2026 are ex­pand­ed coun­ty-lev­el com­mu­ni­ty fes­ti­vals, six na­tion­al train­ing ses­sions for tu­tors and groups, the re­turn of the Clean and Beau­ti­fied Com­pe­ti­tion, a Best Vil­lage Short Film Com­pe­ti­tion and the launch of an of­fi­cial Best Vil­lage YouTube chan­nel and dig­i­tal archive to doc­u­ment more than 60 years of per­for­mances.

The min­is­ter said groups will al­so ben­e­fit from the Best Vil­lage Per­form­ing Am­bas­sadors Ini­tia­tive, un­der which the min­istry will cov­er costs for groups booked to per­form at ex­ter­nal events.

“We are prac­ti­cal. We rise above chal­lenges. Re­sults-ori­ent­ed so­lu­tions are what we de­liv­er,” she said.

The cer­e­mo­ny al­so cel­e­brat­ed out­stand­ing per­for­mances in the 2025 com­pe­ti­tion.

The cer­e­mo­ny al­so cel­e­brat­ed ex­cel­lence in the 2025 com­pe­ti­tion, where a to­tal of $310,500 was award­ed in the Folk Pre­sen­ta­tion Fi­nals across a wide range of cat­e­gories.

The 2025 Miss La Reine Rive Com­pe­ti­tion al­so cul­mi­nat­ed in a pres­ti­gious awards cer­e­mo­ny, with $218,500 in prizes award­ed.

2025 Awardees

Folk Pre­sen­ta­tions Dance (Spir­i­tu­al Dance): North West Laven­tille Cul­tur­al Move­ment (St George West), Nbe­lese Cre­ativ­i­ty of the Arts (St An­drew/St David) and En­core Dance The­atre (To­ba­go).

Folk Pre­sen­ta­tions Dance: First Peo­ple’s, along­side Nbe­lese Cre­ativ­i­ty of the Arts, Mal­ick Folk Per­form­ing Com­pa­ny (St George West).

Folk Pre­sen­ta­tions Dance (Cre­ative Freestyle): Soul Oa­sis Cul­tur­al Am­bas­sadors, Elec­tric Break­ers Dance Against Crime Acad­e­my (Ca­roni South) and Rangi­la Dance Com­pa­ny (St An­drew/St David)

Folk Pre­sen­ta­tions Dance (African De­vo­tion­al): Soul Oa­sis Cul­tur­al Am­bas­sadors, North West Laven­tille Cul­tur­al Move­ment and Bon Bas­sa Pro­duc­tions (St George West)

Folk Pre­sen­ta­tions Dance (East In­di­an In­flu­ence): Am­ri­tam Shak­ti Dance Com­pa­ny (Ca­roni South), North West Laven­tille Cul­tur­al Move­ment and Na­traj Dance Group (St George West)

Folk Pre­sen­ta­tions Mu­sic (East In­di­an De­vo­tion­al): Am­ri­tam Shak­ti Dance Com­pa­ny, Bol­ly­wood Dance Com­pa­ny Lim­it­ed (Nar­i­va/Ma­yaro), Nrityapriya Dance Acad­e­my (Ca­roni South)

Spe­cial prizes (La Reine Rive): Andiesa West - Best De­sign­er and Best Hair Style; Ka­li­ka Mor­to - Best Make-up; Best Gown - Andiesa West, Deshor Ed­wards, Adaylia-Marie Bed­doe.

Best Self Ex­pres­sion: Deshor Ed­wards, Aaliya Camp­bell, Adaylia-Marie Bed­doe.

Best Tal­ent: Curlette Boney, Tr­isha Vil­lafana, Ka­li­ka Mor­ton