The carnival village project is still on the cards but Culture Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera would not commit to a completion date.
The storage of floats has bothered participants for years. In 2012, the planning authority granted a permit for the construction of a carnival village at Corradino and the idea was to have it ready in time for this year’s carnival. However, last year, Jason Busuttil, then president of the Association of Carnival Participants, said the village would shift to Marsa, close to the Millennia complex. The suggestion was welcomed by participants who always preferred a site closer to Valletta.
This year, the building of the King Carnival float was both a bad and a happy dream
This led to the opening of fresh talks with the government. They are ongoing and an announcement is expected in the coming weeks, according to Dr Herrera.
Pressed for a date of the proposed carnival village, Dr Herrera said talks had been going on for the past 11 months. “The government has not forgotten the issue but I cannot give you a date.” Dr Herrera yesterday visited the warehouse where the King Carnival float was built. The float pays tribute to a long-time carnival enthusiast – Charles Axisa, 59, known as il-Landa – who passed away suddenly last year after a pipe exploded in a boiler room at a hotel.
“This year, the building of the King Carnival float was both a bad and a happy dream,” his son, Clint, president of the Association of Carnival Participants, said.
“During his funeral, people urged us to continue our father’s legacy. I didn’t think the building of the float would become a reality but so many helpers turned up that we managed to make it.”
Charles Axisa had built the King Carnival float for the past 18 years.
This year’s float, built by his four children and a group of 25 friends, features him about to be presented with flowers by King Carnival himself. The king wears a ring bearing the word ‘dad’, similar to one the Axisa children had given to their father.
Mr Axisa’s face appears on a heart which is exposed when a pair of angel wings flap to the side.
Beneath the heart, a banner in the shape of a film roll shows all 18 King Carnival floats built by Mr Axisa and his team.
King Carnival returns to St George’s Square enclosure for the first time after a lapse of 40 years.
Other novelties this year include the return of the humorous and irreverent marriage contract known as the qarċilla and political satire after an 80-year absence.
The political satire category will include two floats, one about the Nationalist Party and the other about the Labour Party. Although the floats will not be taking part in the competition this year, it is planned that a category for political satire will be introduced in next year’s edition.
Apart from the two floats, this year there will also be 12 grotesque masks with a political satire theme.
A Miss Carnival Queen contest will be held at Pjazza Teatru Rjali on Saturday and TV viewers will be able to vote for the best dance, costume or float in a Public Choice Award.