By DAMIAN SOGREN Thursday, September 2 2010

IN JUST its second year this major all inclusive/ fundraising event was truly the talk of the town and in this case the countryside. The Independence extravaganza produced by Yorke Inc and FB Promotions was held at the scenic Salybia Nature Resort and Spa on the picturesque north-east coast of Trinidad.

This unique mid-year all-inclusive fundraiser lived up to all standards expected by any premium fete connoisseur. The promoters pulled out all the stops to ensure the satisfaction of their patrons.

Attendees were treated to a wide array of high end alcoholic, non-alcoholic and cocktail drinks. Most notable in this case was the variety of martinis provided by ‘Martini Mixers’ which was a true crowd pleaser.

The delightful dishes and food selections included Indian, Chinese and Creole menus, bake and shark, wontons, roast pork, geera pork, jerk chicken, corn soup, gyros, Haagen-Dazs ice cream and fruity sorbets.

When asked about his thoughts on this year’s edition of the fete, the event’s promoter Gerard Yorke shared: “This year is just like last year, we have a beautiful crowd and everyone is having a great time”.

He added: “Through this event we assist the Turtle Village Trust Fund because this venue is founded on the turtles and turtle watching tourism. We also wanted to bring more events to other parts of the island because in this instance it brings more business to the community and its hotels and guest houses”.

Entertainment for the night was at the highest level as the Siparia Rhythm Section, Scorpion Pan Round D Neck, and DJs King Int’l and Sugar Daddy with MC CG, the Soca General kept the crowd moving on both upper and lower levels of this party experience.

The newly launched, all-inclusive ready TTEC Gayatones took to the stage first and showed off their dynamic, musical force. Featuring the vocals of Oscar B, Neeshad Sultan, CL, Flexx and Andy Singh, the band performed a mixture of chutney, classic and current soca such as Road March winner “Palance”, Black Stalin’s “Black Man Feeling to Party”, Sparrow’s “Congo Man” and Oscar B’s “Soca Butterfly”. Popular chutney-Soca crossover band Dil-E-Nadan had the Salybia audience jumping, waving and dancing throughout its entire set. Frontline vocalists Raymond Ramnarine, Candy Hoyte, Derrick Seales and General Imran, commanded the crowd with numerous up-tempo, groovy soca and chutney numbers.

The Iron Man Shurwayne Winchester alongside his band YOU ended the night’s onstage activity with a rousing performance which featured his percussion driven hits such as “Dead or Alive”, “The Band Coming” and “Can’t Wait”. Shurwayne delivered a session of ‘old-school’ soca for the more mature members of the audience and sang numerous hip-hop, pop and reggae hits for the young and young at heart patrons.