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ROSEAU, Dominica -- Preparations for the staging of the 16th edition of the World Creole Music Festival intensified this week with a table-top simulation exercise conducted at the Windsor Park Stadium on Wednesday.

The Dominica Festivals Committee (DFC) spearheaded the exercise aimed at establishing and analyzing standard emergency operational procedures during an international entertainment event. Head of private security for the WCMF, former Superintendent of Police Nicholas George of Krystallion Services, created and facilitated the exercise.

“The table top exercise was extremely timely for it heightened awareness among functional heads who are to function at the 16th World Creole Music Festival in understanding their roles and responsibilities at the event and their need to collaborate and to build network among peers for synergistic delivery of services," George said.

Heads of seventeen functional areas including the Dominica Police Force, Emergency Services, WPSS and DFC Venue Site Management, Office of Disaster Preparedness, Environmental Health, DFC Event, Hospitality, and Administrative Management and Media participated in the exercise. Functional area heads assessed the protocols of the venue operational center (VOC), the effectiveness of the communication system and protocol, emergency numbers, and points of exit and entry. Directions which will be given to patrons in case of emergencies and cancellations and media management protocol were also discussed.

Deputy chairman of the Dominica Festivals Committee Sobers Esprit said the exercise “highlighted the quality and level of competence associated with the planning of the festival.”

“As the festival expands and grows it is critical that the DFC and its key partners place greater emphasis on management of risk and ensuring that the safety and security of artistes, patrons and VIPs are given the highest priority. Our hope is that this is the first step in the efforts to enhance the skills and competencies of the event management team and heads of all the key functional areas of the WCMF as well as other events managed by the DFC,” Esprit said.

DFC events director Natalie Clarke-Meade said, “The vision for this exercise came into being in 2010 and begun to materialize last year when DFC hired Mr Marcus Francis to update the security, safety and health manual.”

“This year DFC continues in crafting operational procedures worthy of the international standards this product demands. Krystallion Security Services accepted my challenge of helping us upgrade and I am very excited at the outcomes. One final simulation exercise hopefully will be conducted before the October 26th-28th event and I compliment the highly professional FAs as we move towards another 15 years of WCMF,” Clarke-Meade said.

The sixteenth edition of the Dominica World Creole Music Festival (WCMF), scheduled for October 26-28 at the Windsor Park Stadium, will pay homage to cadence-lypso icon, the late Jeff Joseph.

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