-Tarrus Riley concert an added sweetener
AT A press conference Thursday, Region 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) Chairman, Gordon Bradford said the upcoming Bartica Regatta Easter Weekend 2012 promises to be a spectacular affair. It will feature 26 events, including a first-time Gospel Fest and a Regatta Splash Concert with Tarrus Riley.
As the Bartica Regatta Committee Chairman, Bradford told the media that the Regatta is being backed by AJ and DC Promotions, and will be staged despite challenges. The Regatta Committee was able to plan the event in a short time, with the input of some sponsors; and Bartica Regatta 2012 is well on its way.
Bradford added that an important feature of the Bartica Regatta – the beauty pageant — will not be staged this year because of the time constraint; but this has been replaced by a Gospel Fest, which will add a religious aspect to the programme, and plans are on stream to make Gospel Fest an annual feature of future Bartica Regattas.
Bradford said it was also in the interest of the sponsors that the event be staged.

Itinerary
This year, the committee has added a 20/20 cricket festival to the programme, wherein two matches will be played under floodlights on March 31 and April 2, 2012. On April 7, 2012, the Bartica Regatta Splash Concert featuring Tarrus Riley will be staged; and on April 8/9, 2012, there will be power boats races starting at 10am daily, followed by “Run Bartica Run” and the “River Swim”. Events will culminate with the ‘Wash Down” in which local artistes will be present to entertain the crowd, on April 9.
Meanwhile, President of AJ Promotions, Ajay Chatterpaul, assured the public that the Easter weekend in Bartica would be punctuated with power boat races in different categories.
Giving the background of DC Promotions, Public Relations Officer, Uma Narayan said the outfit was established over one year ago, and it has a good understanding of Bartica and its people. She added that DC Promotions is a Bartica-based company aimed at becoming a successful promotions company geared towards development of tourism and Bartica itself.
The outfit has since hosted two successful 20/20 cricket tournaments, and is pleased to feature the opening event of Bartica Regatta — the Splash Concert with Tarrus Riley, which is billed for April 7, at the Bartica Community Centre Ground.
She said, “We have the level of knowledge of the market to execute such a concert as Tarrus Riley; and given the magnitude and prominence of the artiste, who has his own dancehall style, (the concert) is favoured by the people.”
Narayan stated that although this is the first time DC Promotions will be working with the Bartica Regatta Committee, the promotions outfit will deliver a good concert, which is expected to add grandeur to the list of events planned.
Regular tickets to the concert cost $2,000 each, while a ticket bought at the gate will cost $3,000, and VIP tickets will cost $8,000 each and will be available at locations to be announced.