PHILIPSBURG--Dancer/choreographer Ihndhira Marlin, carnival costume designer and sculptor Randolph Scot, youth group Voice of our Children foundation and new author Lydia Henderson were among first-time nominees for the annual Culture Time Awards, who took top honours.
The winners were announced in a special edition of the island's longest-running cultural programme on PJD-2 radio 1300AM, on Sunday.
Marlin, "whose consistency in producing quality work with the island's youth ensures the continuity of excellent output in dance on the island," took over from Broadway star Nicole de Weever, winner of the Dance category for the last couple of years.
Producer and host of Culture Time, now in its 25th consecutive year, Fabian Badejo expressed the hope that a national dance ensemble could emerge from the work of artistes like Marlin, Clara Reyes of Imbali Center for Creative Movement, and groups like Motiance Dance Company, the other two nominees in the Dance category for 2011.
The Mighty Dow, who had a stellar year in 2011, with accolades pouring in for him both at home and abroad, won the Music category against nominees like Addy "Shadowman" Richardson and Control band.
Others nominated in this category included leading exponents of string band music Tanny and the Boys and the Jolly Boys, as well as Ebony Steel Orchestra.
Addy Richardson's "In your eyes" was adjudged "Song of the Year" in a "mano-a-mano" with Control's rendition of the Sparrow classic, "No money, no love."
"Shadowman has come out of the shadows to enter the spotlight of Caribbean music with his undeniable success on regional charts and on Tempo," said Badejo.
Culture Time co-host Fernando Clark stressed that "Shadowman has been consistently on the radar in the region, producing quality work that has made him stand out as a frontline musician."
Control took the "Band of the Year" award in a category that included nominees Youth Waves and No Limits. It is the second year consecutively that Control has won this category.
Randolph Scot, one of the island's leading carnival costume and set designers, won the Fine Art category in his first year of being nominated, while Lydia Henderson, another first-timer in the nominations race, won the Book of the Year award with her controversial autobiography Lydia; from heterosexual to homosexual to bisexual to God.
"Yori Yori" by Bracket won the "Foreign Song of the Year" title, while "DJ of the Year" was won by Mix Master Pauly.
The Culture Time Lifetime Achievement Award went to artist/musician Urmain Dormoy who has gone from "Slujj to STM Generation New Status drum band in a lifetime full of hard work, dedication and breaking new grounds," according to Clark.
Chef Dino Jagtiani won "Chef of the Year" award, instituted last year in recognition of the fact that the island is commonly referred to as the "Culinary Capital of the Caribbean."
His Rare and Temptation restaurants offer "creative and innovative fare that soothe the palate," the judges stated.
"Culture Time Person of the Year" is Jacques Hamlet, better known as "Billie D," of SOS Radio in Marigot.
"This is also a first for us," said Badejo, who observed that not only Billie D's work as radio personality, but also as "local entrepreneur in the broadcast field has had a significant impact on the island's cultural field, which has not escaped the notice of our judges."
There were a total of 16 categories for the Culture Time Awards, with the Theatre and Fashion Designer of the Year categories declared vacant.
The Culture Time Awards do not carry any monetary or other material value, but have become a prestigious recognition of consistent and excellent work in the field of culture by those in the field.
