Artistes and patrons escaped unhurt on Saturday night when a portion of the stage collapsed at the Arima Velodrome.
By Wayne BowmanSoca artiste Dawg-E-Slaughter and musicians from the band Traffik were sent scampering for safety when the steel girders supporting the top of the stage fractured under the weight of water that had pooled, forming a belly on the tent covering the stage at the Smash-Up Fete, New Year's Night.
No one was injured as the stage managed to hold together after the water had drained out and the stage crew braced the damaged part of the stage.
Dawg-E-Slaughter had just joined defending Road March Champion Shurwayne Winchester on stage to perform his (Slaughter's) 2005 hits including "Carnival I Love You".
As he was getting the already worked up crowd even more excited there was a loud noise as the metal snapped and the girder came down, causing the drummer to dive for cover. The rain was at the time pouring heavily and the Velodrome track was already under about three inches of water, but the crowd seemed to be ignoring the rains as they splashed in the water.
Even before the incident, people outside the venue were turning away from the entrance, having decided that the rain was too much for them to handle.
Other patrons, however, continued to pour in, despite having heard that the stage had collapsed and there may not have been any more live performances.
Maximus Dan had performed his "Earthquake" and "Put On Your Wings" before the mishap. The stage crew worked feverishly to repair the damage in the hope that the night's headline act, Bunji Garlin and The Godfathers Asylum, would at least have been able to at least deliver a short performance.
Garlin and his band-members arrived shortly after the incident and waited around to see if they were going to be allowed on stage.
The Smash-Up fete was actually in tribute to Garlin, the defending International Soca Monarch who is from Arima and many of the patrons had come to see him perform specifically. After over an hour following the incident, the stage was declared safe enough for the artistes to use and the Asylum musicians began to set up. By the time Garlin kicked off his performance the rains had eased up and he went on to deliver a well received presentation before leaving Arima to head down to the Break Fete at the Anchorage, Chaguaramas.
