By Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer 
Ernie Smith performing on Sunday afternoon at Calabash 2004. - Claudine Housen Photo
WESTERN BUREAU:
WITH A sunny year four, after heavy rain in 2002 and 2003, the organisers of the Calabash International Literary Festival are looking forward to the 2005 renewal.
In fact, the organisers began to plan the 2005 and 2010 stagings of the annual literary festival in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, when the first one ended in 2001.
And while this year's Calabash, which ran from May 28-30 by the sea at Jake's, was well attended (police estimated the Saturday night crowd at 3,000 people) the festival's founder, Colin Channer, is not surprised.
"We have got a lot of compliments about 2004, about how well organised it was and the audience. We were at that point in 2002, but we had two years of rain," he said.
FLOODED OUT
"When we got flooded out in 2002 many people did not even leave Kingston. In 2003 many people came, but they stayed in their hotels. There was a massive crowd in 2003," he said.
The rain not only affected the audience, but also the technical aspects, as the stage had to be moved out of a waterlogged area.
Those stage-moving feats will not be a factor in the future. In fact, they won't be possible, as a new, permanent stage has been erected. It is yet another contribution by Jake's to Calabash along with new bathrooms that cost $500,000 and is made of concrete, with a thatch roof and a mosaic tile detail. It was designed by Sally Henzell around specifications from the Calabash technical director, John DaCosta.
The new stage, 'christened' by Owen 'Blacka' Ellis as he opened the Calabash Writers Workshop presentation on Friday, May 28, was long in the planning.
"We built the stage in what had always been the ideal location at the base of a natural slope with a lovely bay as a backdrop," Channer said.
The land had to be prepared, though, and that took time and machinery.
ATTRACTIVE STAGE
And while the stage may be attractive, there is purpose to the 'pretty'.
"Under the thatch there is a full lighting set-up and the stage can hold a band of up to eight," Channer said. On the second night's 'Tosh - Still Firm @ 60', Ibo Cooper on keyboard, Wayne Armond on guitar, Steve Golding on guitar and Nadine Sutherland on lead vocals were accommodated, with room to spare for Channer and Festival programmer Kwame Dawes, who tested their Tosh knowledge.
In addition, there was a jam session on stage for Ernie Smith's Sunday afternoon set.
With the sun beaming on the full potential of Calabash's crowd pulling power, at the end of the 2004 staging Colin Channer made it clear that there are no plans to relocate from Treasure Beach. "You do not leave paradise, you have to get cast out," he said then, noting that there are smaller venues in the area which can be used to run simultaneous events. However, there is no set timetable for this to happen.
WORLD-CLASS FESTIVAL
"Planning has sustained us, has allowed us to put on a world-class festival in a rural part in a rural parish of a developing country. So the plans are ready and will be put into action as soon as the current venue won't do. We have already identified specific places," Channer said.
Calabash 2004 saw expanded press coverage, with media houses from Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom among those which sent representatives. The Treasure Beach Emergency Response Unit ambulance was on spot and was the most visible part of a community movement in which 30 persons are trained in emergency procedures, with two always being on call.
Calabash's venture into re-issuing Roger Mais' Brother Man on the festival's fourth anniversary, complete with readings of sections by Barbara Blake-Hannah, Leonie Forbes, John Maxwell and Peter Phillips, proved successful, with the book recording 'very good sales'. Anthony Winkler's The Annihilation of Fish sold out.
All the books read by authors at Calabash 2004 will be available through Novelty Trading Company Ltd., which had an extensive bookstore at Jake's during the festival.
OPEN MIKE SEGMENTS
There were many takers for three open mike segments which serves not only to allow people who are not featured on the festival a chance to be heard, but also to give them opportunities they may not be aware of.
"Agents and editors have been coming to Calabash from year one. However, like most talent scouts, they rarely announce themselves to the public. One of the reasons for having the open mike is to give people an opportunity to be heard and seen by people who have the ability to change their lives," Channer said.
And, with the fifth staging of Calabash in the offing, it is now possible for persons who read in the festival's first year to be included next year, as the "four-year before repeating authors" policy will no longer include them. However, it is not a case of automatic selection.
"We are going to make Calabash 2005 an unforgettable experience. Repeaters, like anybody else, will have to have fresh and interesting material to read from. They can't come back with the same old thing," Channer said.
