Persons who turned up at the Carifesta Secretariat yesterday hoping to collect tickets for the upcoming arts festival were turned away empty-handed and told to return tomorrow instead.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony had told the media on Friday that tickets would have been available from yesterday, and that a ticket distribution plan would have been unveiled to the public over the weekend.
Stabroek News was informed that several people went to the Secretariat yesterday morning to obtain tickets and were told to return in the afternoon when the tickets would be available.
Shortly after 2 pm a number of persons gathered outside the Secretariat asking for tickets. These included several who had gone to the Secretariat in the morning and had been advised to return in the afternoon. The gates of the secretariat were eventually locked and the Artistic Director of Carifesta, Dr. Paloma Mohamed eventually spoke to those gathered and informed them that tickets were not available as yet and that they would be available from tomorrow.
A sheet of paper with some information regarding the distribution of tickets was then handed out to those gathered.
A woman, who asked not to be named, told Stabroek News that she had come from Diamond to obtain tickets, but said that she and a number of other people ended up being locked out of the compound instead. She said that it was frustrating since she had come expecting to get tickets.
Kenny Atta Green and Joan Green were among those who visited the Secretariat twice yesterday before being told that no tickets were available. They reside at Kuru Kuru on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, and were clearly upset at the situation. Joan Green felt that the entire situation was chaotic and said that “Guyanese deserved better”. According to them, they would have rather paid for the tickets saying things would likely have been better organized, citing the example of last year’s Cricket World Cup.
Romeo Mc Adam was another individual who went to the Secretariat twice before being told that no tickets were available. He said he was upset because in spite of his inquiries no information was forthcoming about the tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies. He said that “this was particularly worrying since the opening ceremony (Friday) was only days away.”
When Stabroek News contacted the Secretariat regarding the availability of tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies, it was told that this information will be revealed to the media tomorrow.
According to the distribution plans, tickets will made available from tomorrow, from 10:00 am to 6 pm.
These can be obtained at the National Cultural Centre, The Theatre Guild, Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, and the Sophia Exhibition Complex. For the community festival and regional events, tickets will be available from the Regional Democratic Council Offices. The tickets for the Hindu and Gospel events can be obtained from temples and churches.
According to the Secretariat all tickets are free and anyone found selling or bartering tickets will be prosecuted.
Tickets are required for most events with a few exceptions. Persons desiring to attend the symposia, film festival, youth village, book fair, the public literary readings, workshops, master classes as well as the open air concerts and events (excluding the super concerts), do not require tickets. However, for events, particularly the master classes, spaces are limited and will be available on a first come, first serve basis.
The tickets are also venue specific and will only allow one person entrance into the venue located on the ticket. With the exception of the Performing Arts Events, children under twelve do not require tickets.
According to the Secretariat, one person cannot obtain tickets for more than five events at one time, and this person is allowed a maximum of four tickets per event.
Tickets for the Grand Market in Sophia do not have dates marked but are colour coded. Grey, Purple, Yellow, Green, Orange, Blue, Red and Grey again are the colours for the 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th and 30th respectively. (Mark McGowan)
