Belize City, Tuesday, June 8^th, 2010 – The National Celebrations Commission is pleased to invite all Belizean Musicians to enter this year's Patriotic Song Competition and the Carnival Song Competition which are being held in conjunction with the 29^th Anniversary of Belize's Independence and the 212^th Anniversary of the Battle of St. George's Caye.

Entries for both competitions will be judged on:

Audience Appeal – This encompasses how well the audience responds to your sound, appearance, and how well you connect with the audience and their emotions.

Musical Arrangement - How well the music piece has been prepared, and written for presentation.

Vocal Quality – Vocal performance has consistent quality and characteristic of voice, and performer is aware of tone and pitch.

Stage Presence – This encompasses performer’s attire, body movement and facial expressions while performing on stage. Performers are encouraged to include dramatizations and choreography to enhance their performance.

Lyrical Content - The lyrics of the song should express the overall theme of the song competition.

The Lyrical content of the Patriotic Song should also include expression of love and devotion for one’s country as well as Belize’s history. This part of the competition is weighted very heavily.

All genres of music will be accepted and competitors will be required to perform a live rendition at the Memorial park.

There will also be a Carnival Road march Song of the Year. This song will be judged based on the most played song during the carnival season by any given carnival band and the frequency of rotation on local Radio Station.

Competitors will be required to perform a live rendition at the Memorial park.

Composers and Songwriters are encouraged to partner with Performers to enter the competition.

Applications and a Rules and Regulations booklet can be obtained at The Bliss Center, the Belize Tourism Board, and House of Culture, a copy of the Application form can be downloaded by clicking here. All Application forms and Song Lyrics should be submitted by June 30^th 2010 to Chair of National Celebrations Commission, House of Culture, or The Bliss Center at P.O. Box 325 in Belize City.

The General Song Competition will be held on July 10th at the Memorial Park and the entrance is free! This will be followed by semi- Finals on August 14^th and Finals on August 21^st at the Bliss Center.