Every year Lucian Carnival explodes into a lively multifarious ‘Summertime Festival’ and the spectacle evokes lots of thrills that build up into more fun and excitement, high energy and greater splendor.
Just 4 Fun carnival band has been an integral part of this cultural extravaganza which, over the years, has transitioned from a Lenten-season event to the current Caribbean-Mas street revelry. The band caters for 1,200 members and has been going strong for the past 12 years.
Lance Arnold is a front-man for the group, holding down the purse strings and assisting with other functions while the band continues to grow and evolve into a highly-innovative entertainment phenomenon.
DAZZLE met up with Lance and Just 4 Fun co-founder Rostan Taylor, who took some ‘time-out’ from their busy band-preparations schedule for a quick chit chat. Taylor has been instrumental in helping to build up the group and passing on valuable organisational skills to younger members.
It is quite interesting how the band originated, Roston observes, as the group started off by staging events that included the first Soca Monarch show in Saint Lucia.
Rostan reveals gleefully, “We got sucked back into carnival … and we decided that if we get into carnival it had to be something different .We did it not just for the competition aspect of it, hence the reason that you have Just 4Fun.”
He reiterates that the band’s primary focus then and now is on satisfying its members and their corporate sponsors simultaneously. This is to ensure that the reveler gets the ultimate experience on the road, and the band’s sponsors benefit financially from the partnership.
Dazzle: How do you identify a theme for the band’s portrayal?
Lance: There is no set procedure and I think that it just evolves through dialogue. We bounce ideas off each other and then something always resonates. We have been playing with that central theme of the ‘Adventure’ since the band’s inception … and every year we come up with something to see where this adventurer will go next. It depicts a ‘World Traveler’ – an Indiana Jones kind of theme and the theme for this year is Immortals.
Dazzle: What has been the band’s biggest challenge in handling your operations?
Lance: I think it is constantly trying to surpass the revelers’ expectations. Every year we try to improvre on something. We take one aspect of the mas and try to improve on it. Ultimately it is about entertainment as we are into more than just carnival and involved in the entertainment industry. We have a core of loyal followers and these ‘guys and gals’ would do just about anything that the band requires. We also look for feedback on a regular basis and social media provides an ideal platform for that. Best of all, our members are very supportive and passionate about the band and believe in what we do. It is their loyalty and enthusiasm that energizes the band and enables us to achieve the success we do.
Dazzle: How is the band able to cope with the prevailing financial crunch and what about its relationship with sponsors?
Roston: Whilst everyone likes to use the term sponsorship, I think we have moved away from that and we treat it more as a partnership. We look to see how we can relate to a firm to achieve a dual objective – to increase the visibility of that firm, and for us it’s to get what we require. We have been working with the brewery (WLBL) from its inception and they seem to be happy with the product that we deliver. LlME also came on board in a big way and we always try to meet with them to see what role we can play in helping to achieve their needs.
Dazzle: What is the band’s major source for generating revenue?
Roston: Members fees are our main source of revenue but generally those fees are not adequate to cover all our expenses and we normally end up in the red. So we try to organize fetes and parties to raise additional funds to help us cover the shortfall and hopefully break even. Contributions from sponsors also help.
Dazzle: What are the vibes like with obtaining your costumes, do you make them locally or are they imported?
Lance: When the band started, everything was done locally, but with the addition of 500 to 600 members it got a little bit overwhelming. There were challenges in purchasing material and securing venues. We had to cut costs and found it more economical to get our costumes done in Trinidad and bring them down to St Lucia, so we went down that route. We work with about three to four designers in any year. We tell them what the theme is and they submit designs to us. We cater for teenagers to grownups, up to the 60-year age range.
Dazzle: How relevant is it for you to have to compete and keep up with the modern trends in carnival?
Lance: I think you have to evolve and keep up with the times. We have to understand what it is the market requires and find a way of making that marriage. That is the challenge that we face every year. Make no mistake about it, for us it is a business and whatever the members want we try to deliver.
