‘Mr Blyden needs to stop lying!’ – Eustace ‘Boss’ Freeman
![“For a first time event there was a slight loss as expected. And fact is we are in 2014 and that slight loss the Festival and Fairs Committee has not held up their end of the agreement as usual [and] we the Soca monarch committee bore that loss. Thanks to our sponsors and wider community our direct expenses were paid in 2013,” Mr Freeman pointed out. Photo: VINO/File](https://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/cache/images/800x_i_IMG_6452_02.JPG)
This time around HD Promotion’s Mr Eustace ‘Boss’ Freeman is challenging Mr Blyden to tell the truth and in this case about the 2013 Soca monarch. In speaking with this news agency Mr Freeman said that he took offense to a story published on another news site which quoted Mr Blyden as saying that the Soca Monarch was a failure.
The news site carried the headline “Soca Monarch Competition a Huge Failure in Revenue – Blyden” and in the body of the story is stated, “The Virgin Islands Festivals and Fairs Committee was forced to part ways with GRATE VI Music Alliance's Soca Monarch Competition, which was a great revenue loss for the committee. This is according to Mr. Marvin Blyden, Chairman of the committee.”
The news site went on further to report that in the 2013 Festival annual report, Blyden said the competition which started in that year was new to the committee and was a joint venture with GRATE VI Music Alliance.
"The show was a success in terms of turnout, but it was a huge failure in loss of revenue. The Virgin Islands Festivals and Fairs Committee cannot afford to add another event that is not cost effective to Festival," he said according to the news site.
“The Chairman went on to state that it is recommended that the GRATE VI Music Alliance should assume control of the event and keep the show prior to the commencement of Festival village,” it was further reported.
Mr Freeman thought that the truth must be told and those statements were laced with lies by Mr Blyden.
“MB Blyden’s report is fictitious as it relates to Soca Monarch 2013... In fact the Festival Committee DID NOT contribute financially toward this event, none whatsoever,” said Mr Freeman.
He further explained that they, HD Promotion/GRATE VI Music Alliance, entered under the agreement that the VIF&FC provide the stage and profits or loss be split.
“For a first time event there was a slight loss as expected. And fact is we are in 2014 and that slight loss the Festival and Fairs Committee has not held up their end of the agreement as usual [and] we the Soca monarch committee bore that loss. Thanks to our sponsors and wider community our direct expenses were paid in 2013,” Mr Freeman pointed out.
“And I want to also add in 2013 the Soca monarch committee was kept in the dark as for funds collected at the gates of the event until a week after which shows the levels of no professionalism by MR Blyden and his committee,” Mr Freeman alleged.
”My secretary was there [and] left to use the bathroom for 10 minutes upon return booth was empty. In the middle of the show the Final act Pumpa was not even on stage yet,” said Mr Freeman.
Calls to Mr Blyden continue to go un-responded to.
Mr Freeman said that upon receiving such information he was baffled as to why the VIF&FC persons who were doing the collecting of ticket money would have waited for his secretary to move and even while patrons were still flowing in they closed the booth allowing the gate to go free to entrants even before one of the big artists take to the stage.
Asked if his organization intends to continue promoting the event during the festival season of 2015, Mr Freeman responded, “Definitely will continue; the show is here to stay.”
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16 Responses to “‘Mr Blyden needs to stop lying!’ – Eustace ‘Boss’ Freeman”
I aint see why MB said that the Festival Committee paid any monies, he learn fast from the NDP to L.E