TAA Chairman, Mr. W.R.A. (Billy) Pilgrim, who made the announcement in a press release, explained that the cancellation was due to the small number of presentations last year.

He said they were not enough to provide material for a competitive assessment, especially in the area of drama, where there were only two plays, ‘Is we big people’ and ‘School’s Out’.

The panel, therefore, decided, as it did in 2001, to postpone the function until March/April 2004, when, hopefully, there should have been sufficient entries to make effective decisions.

Pilgrim noted, however, made some general comments on a number of children’s presentations.

“The West Ruimveldt School concert, in spite some inadequacies, was of the usual high standard. It is good to see so many young people making their first appearance on stage and learning techniques of presentation,” he commented.

He also remarked that ‘Young Musicians on Stage’ was enjoyable, as well, sharing, with ‘Children in Concert’, the challenge of performance in a large hall, with all its complications.

Pilgrim said ‘Berbice Thunder’, on the other hand, which consisted of a number of small dramatic presentations by the teenage students of Sapodilla Learning Centre in Berbice, taught the basic techniques of drama that will be the foundation of their future performances.

In conclusion, he said all the children who performed, including those already mentioned, whether as dancers, actors, singers or instrumentalists, are to be congratulated for sharing their experience with the audiences.