Fantastic Friday will belong to Machel Montano as the soca king has announced that his 40th-anniversary show in Trinidad and Tobago will be held on Carnival Friday.
This will be the first show the King of Soca will do on home soil for his 40th anniversary in music. Montano has done shows in the US and has performed in Barbados and Guyana as well this year. He performed briefly in T&T a few months ago for a fundraiser for filmmaker Danielle Dieffenthaller.
In ads for the Carnival Friday show called Machel 40, Montano teases that there will be guest performances from Nigerian artistes. Fans are speculating that Afrobeats singer WizKid could be one of the guest acts.
Machel 40 will be held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. Tickets go on sale on January 1.
This will Montano's first concert since staging his last Machel Monday show in 2020.

Miss T&T Tya Jané Ramey wowed with her national costume at the prelims of the Miss Universe competition.
Described as the largest costume of the night, the gold costume with a large puppet reminiscent of Tan Tan and Saga Boy, was designed by Hott Stuff Promotions.
Missology, the platform that has been analysing beauty pageants since 1999, was impressed with Ramey's representation during the night which also included the swimsuit and evening gown segments.
They said she was a major standout of the night.
"Trinidad and Tobago is back after 5 years and may be well on the way to their 3rd Miss Universe crown. Tya Jané Ramey, the 6 feet beauty from Trinidad and Tobago was one of the major standouts of the night," the platform said.

​Ramey's evening gown was designed by Zadd and Eastman and the coverup for her swimwear featured a motif painted by artist Hayden Geeawan.
Judges will determine the semi-finalists from last night's show.
The results will be known at the pageant on Saturday when a new Miss Universe will be crowned.
The Miss Universe pageant is being held in New Orleans.

Minister of Planning and Development Pennelope Beckles said a planned Solar Park Project has broken ground at the Piarco International Airport and a significant amount of work is underway regarding design approvals, procurement and construction works for the project.
In a statement, the Ministry of Planning and Development said the solar park is a collaboration between the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, the European Union’s Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The Ministry said as of November 2022, all of the prerequisite activities related to the project were 100 per cent complete, procurement works were 48 per cent complete and construction work was 30 per cent complete.
The Minister said:
"The installation of this commercial-scale solar farm at the Piarco International Airport, represents action that Trinidad and Tobago is undertaking, assisted by our international partners, to meet our climate change commitments under the Paris Agreement. These commitments are aimed at achieving our Nationally Determined Contribution, as part of the global effort to constrain global temperatures to survivable levels, and to target the sectors responsible for our highest emissions, the power generation, transportation and industrial sectors.”
Minister Beckles added that the initiative is a major turning point.
"This initiative is a turning point in the power generation sector and in the national climate change agenda. The existential threat posed by climate change requires action by every country, and the international climate policy framework has responded through legal instruments requiring and guiding actions to be undertaken.
"As part of implementing the 2011 National Climate Change Policy, the “Strategy for Reduction of Carbon Emissions (CRS-Carbon Reduction Strategy)” was developed and adopted in 2015, establishing a mitigation action plan targeting the country’s three main emitting sectors; electrical power generation, industry, and transport, over the period 2013 - 2040.
"This was the policy basis for Trinidad and Tobago’s Nationally Determined Contribution or NDC, and represents our commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as required under the Paris Agreement. In addition, this project demonstrates the Government’s commitment to the national development strategy, Vision 2030 through the attainment of SDG 13: Climate Action.”
The Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) is a flagship initiative of the European Union, geared towards helping the world's most vulnerable countries to address the issue of climate change.
Trinidad and Tobago, through the Ministry of Planning and Development was able to partner with the Delegation of the European Union, to ensure that they were able to design projects allowing access to the GCCA+ programme contributing to the achievement of its NDC.
The Ministry said the solar farm, which is managed by the Airports Authority, will consist of ground-mounted solar panels installed over an area of 1.54 hectares with an annual generation capacity of 1,443,830 kilowatt-hours (kWh), which represents 7.1 per cent of the total amount of electricity consumed at the Piarco International Airport.
The Ministry said this project could potentially reduce annual emissions of carbon dioxide by 1,010 metric tonnes, and contribute to an overall reduction in Trinidad and Tobago’s carbon footprint.
The Minister is hopeful that this solar farm at the Piarco International Airport serves as inspiration to the wider public and private sectors on the potential of Solar and Renewable Energy.  (Source: the Loop, Jan 3, 2023)

The Government and the consortium partners, bp Alternative Energy Trinidad and Tobago (bpATT), Shell Renewables Caribbean (Shell), and Lightsource bp, have completed negotiations on the development of a 112MWac/148MWp solar project.
The project is a significant milestone for the future of Trinidad and Tobago’s energy transition, as the first large-scale solar project.
Reaching agreement with the government enabled consortium partners to reach Final Investment Decision (FID) to commence construction on the project, with bp and Shell initially having joint shareholdings (50/50).
bp and Shell have signed a binding heads of terms agreement with the National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (a state-owned agency committed to supporting the sustainable development of the Trinidad and Tobago energy industry) or its affiliate for the option to take up a shareholding in the project.
Global solar leader, Lightsource bp, has successfully brought the project from inception to FID and will provide the construction management services.
The project is located across two sites, Brechin Castle (92MWac/122MWp), and Orange Grove (20MWac/26MWp).
Construction is set to commence on both sites in Q1 2023, and expected to be operational in Q3 and Q4 2024.
At the Orange Grove site, bp and Shell will collaborate with the University of the West Indies (UWI).
The partners joined forces in response to the Trinidad and Tobago Government’s Request For Proposal (RFP) for projects to underpin the country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 15% in the Power Generation sector by 2030.
The projects will produce 302,500MWh of renewable electricity a year – that’s enough to power the equivalent of 42,500 homes and save 165,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
This is the first time the consortium of bp, Shell and Lightsource bp has ever worked together on a joint project.
With the experience of bp and Shell, as major operators in Trinidad and Tobago’s energy industry, combined with Lightsource bp’s global solar expertise, the group represents the huge potential to accelerate the energy transition through collaboration.
Kareen Boutonnat, Lightsource bp’s CEO of EMEA and APAC, added: “This consortium is a clear demonstration of how energy companies can combine experience and skill sets to support national decarbonization targets. We’re proud to apply our development, engineering, finance and new market entry experience to realise Trinidad and Tobago’s large-scale solar ambitions through this partnership and act as an enabler for the
country’s energy transition.”
David Campbell, bp Trinidad and Tobago president said: "We are proud to join our partners in the development of Trinidad and Tobago’s first commercial scale renewable energy project. We have been in T&T for over 50 years and are excited by the opportunity to support the country as it transitions to a lower carbon future. This is a significant milestone for the country as it has the potential to unlock future investments in renewable energy. In pursuing this activity through collaboration, we are able to leverage the strengths of Lightsource bp, bp and Shell for the benefit of T&T.”
“This project underscores Shell’s commitment to helping Trinidad and Tobago’s move towards a low-carbon energy future” said Eugene Okpere, Shell’s Senior Vice President and Country Chair.
“This solar project will supply the first green electrons to the grid and is a significant step in the country’s Energy Transition journey.
Collectively, Government, private sector and academia brought new perspectives to help chart new territory for this country’s renewable energy future and we look forward to what will come.” (Source: the Loop, Dec 10, 2022)

Remember when BURSTING BAMBOO , or CARBIDE IN A MILK TIN was a popular Trini Christmas Tradition in rural villages long ago?
( Due credit given to photographer who posted this photo on Pin Interest)
My siblings and I grew up in a small rural community where busting bamboo was a popular fun activity among the village youths, especially at Divali and Christmas.
My father did demonstrate the technique to my brothers since we had a bamboo patch growing near to our home .
If I remembered correctly the bamboo stalk was cut long enough to resemble a small canon with one end closed. At the top of closed end a small hole was cut where kerosene was poured.Using a flambeau the fumes from kerosene was ignited and flame blown into cut hole at top of bamboo . The person engaging in this dangerous pastime would then step back in time for the firing of the bamboo canon. The loud explosion that resulted echoed throughout the village.
My mother banned this activity however , because she was scared that my brothers would get injured badly .
My father then introduced my brothers to the sport of bursting carbide in a milk tin
Using a nail a small hole was made at the bottom of the tin . Wet carbidw was placed into the tin . The wet carbide was then rolled around in the tin. Then came the fun pan. WIth the pan placed on its side a match was a lit just at entrance of the nail hole .All will run away from the tin when the flame was lit. What resulted was a loud explosive sound that blew off the lid of the tin.
These traditions though still existing in some remote villages in Trinidad today are slowing fading away. (Source: Angelo Bissessarsingh's Virtual Museum of T&T, Dec 25, 2022)