By Michelle Gonsalves
“Come! Come nah! Ah gat three pair ah socks fuh 500 dallah!”

Shouting street vendors, honking vehicle horns, and people sweating profusely from the heat of the sun.

It was sheer bedlam late Friday as parents jostled each other to get the best buys as ‘back-to school’ preparations must go on, CARIFESTA or no CARIFESTA.

Regent Street, Bourda, Water Street and Stabroek … all were a hub of movement, noise and colour in spite of the broiling sun, as people dodged traffic and masses of other shoppers to secure boots, bags, lunch bowls, exercise books and other items for school. While some were buying readymade uniforms, yet others were still purchasing school uniform fabric, even with the opening of school mere days away.

And what about the opening of school so soon after CARIFESTA X?

Well, opinion varied from person to person.

There were some who felt that school should have been reopened next Monday. According to Lorna Singh, 35, a homemaker and the mother of five children ranging in age from six to 15-years-old, the opening of school should have been postponed. “The holidays came and went so fast,” she lamented. “I am not fully prepared yet.”

Nali, 39, a homemaker and mother of three, agrees with her first observation. She feels that the opening should have been put back for at least another week or so, as people are still focused on CARIFESTA X.

However, some people have a different opinion. One such person is Clive Sinclair, 43, who is self employed and the father of ten, five of whom are still at school. “CARIFESTA X has not affected me,” he said. “My children are excited to go to school; but I know if it is thrown back a week, some people will be glad for it.” He is fully prepared to send his children to school, come tomorrow, he said.

Veda Mohammed is 38, a salesclerk, and a mother of two, aged nine and 12. “I do not have a problem with school reopening tomorrow,” she said, “because my children are anxious to be in school. I have already prepared for school.”

Jewel Howell is a year older, and a homemaker with three children aged 16, 13 and 10. She said she’s finished preparing for school. “CARIFESTA is good for the children,” she declared, “but school is the main focus for me.”

According to 55-year-old Shirley Ferreira, who is raising her youngest, who is 16, and two grandchildren aged 10 and 11: “CARIFESTA should not affect school; school is my main priority.”