Charlestown-Nevis-The Michael ‘Herald’ Sutton auditorium of the Nevis performing Arts Center (NEPAC), was ram-packed on the evening of Saturday 27th February.
Young children, adolescents and older persons, all showed up in support of eight talented youths, who were brave enough to compete for the coveted FACES contest, hosted by the Youth and Sports Department.
As previously explained by the Coordinator of the Youth Department, Mrs. Zahnela Claxton, two of the individuals (one male and one female), would be chosen as the “faces’ of the upcoming youth month, set for April and would be used in promotional exercises by her department, for the remainder of the year.
The show commenced not long after its scheduled starting time of 7.30 pm and from thereon, there were shrieks and screams of approval, as all of the contestants acquitted themselves marvelously, as a demonstration of what long days and nights of consistent practice, can produce.
Even the latest entrant into the competition, Chris Clarke, who was a late replacement for another male who had pulled out at short notice, was one of the crowd favourites, as a testimony to his excellent presentations on stage.
The contestants wowed the huge crowd in three segments.
In round one, the audience was treated to an innovative introduction, by way of video presentation by the contestants and teacher Shanroy Caesar asked each one a specific question, based on what they had said about themselves.
In round two which was dubbed ‘Youth issues,’ the contestants dealt with a particular vice with which the society is currently faced and gave their own spin on solutions to such problems. They did so in their own unique ways whether in song, dramatization, dance, the playing of the steel pan (in one instance), or a combination of such talents.
In the final round which was headlined ‘WHY Wait,” the contestants dressed the part in pairs, as a Minister of Government and a Permanent Secretary of a particular Ministry of Government, which they had duly researched and when quizzed by Mrs. Zahnela Claxton on problems faced by the particular Ministry and how they would deal with such issues, they gave their responses, mostly to the approval of the energized audience.
In between the performances, there were a set of ‘fillers’ which served to entertain the crowd further.
These included advice on dealing with some of the societal issues pointed out by the stars of the show, by trained counselor, Miss Kurdis Clarke; songs by some of Nevis’ finest young artistes and musical entertainment by a newly formed youthful band, which served as the house band for the evening.
Members of the audience were also able to win some really attractive prizes, via an on stage draw of ticket stubs and all present, were also treated to a free snack in the courtyards area, during the intermission.
At the end of the show and obviously after much head scratching by the judges, Gassano Barry emerged as the top male, winning two of the three segments and Shavonne Maynard emerged as the top female, edging out her competitors in all three segments.
The first runner up female was Sabrina Orr and the first runner up male, who actually won one segment, was Chris Clarke.
The decision by the judges seemed to have won the approval of most of the members of the audience.