June 17, 2002 – A group of young musicians from St. John take took to the skies Monday to broaden their musical horizons.
The Love City Pan Dragons and their parents spent almost a year raising $20,000 for their trip to Trinidad, coordinator Ivy Moses said. "This is their first major educational trip for the kids and this is a trip that's well deserved."
Twenty-eight players and parents left St. John Monday morning for the Trinidad trip.
They are being joined by the 2001 Mr. Emancipation festival king and his two co-contestants who Moses said helped in their fund raising efforts.
Unlike most of the steel pan bands that journey abroad, there are no performances scheduled for the Pan Dragons. Instead they will explore the land where pan was born, visiting pan yards and pan manufacturers. Band director Samuel Lawrence said the trip offers insights on how the instruments are made.
During their six day visit the group will also tour the cities of Port of Spain and San Fernando and stop in on Trinidad's pitch lake.
"By visiting different pan yards they will be able to see the different tiers of the pan structure. They will see the factories where they chrome the instruments. When they come back they will have more interest in caring for the instruments. That's very important because tuning pans is very expensive," Lawrence said.
Lawrence has been working with the Pan Dragons since 1999. There are 45 players in the Love City Pan Dragons, divided into two age groups. Practice is held twice a week behind the Housing, Parks and Recreation Department's Youth Action Center.
Lawrence said the kid's enthusiasm make his job enjoyable. "The kids from St. John are musically inclined. They show me they are interested," he said.
Lawrence added he will stay home while his band visits his Trinidad homeland but is eagerly awaiting their return. One day after they come home on Saturday the Pan Dragons are scheduled to perform at the St. John Festival Food Fair.
