KILKENNYPEOPLE August 15, 2003 • Gerry Moran Arts Festival fireworks, Izaline Calister and Masquerade … If you weren't in the Castle Park last Friday night - cry now. Weep, gnash your teeth and know that you missed one of the most spectacular outdoor events that our city has ever hosted. … Music from Curaçao The tower of light was an explosive and enchanting start to our Arts Festival and the fireworks continued in the Kilbride Suite of the Ormonde Hotel, Saturday night. Izaline Calister from the Dutch Caribbean (get your atlas out, folks) gave a blistering performance of ‘music from her native Curaçao with sophisticated jazz arrangements.’ I'm quoting the brochure there but you didn’t need a brochure to know that this was something special, something powerful, something passionate and unique. Unique because Izaline Calister –a cross between Tina Turner and Mahalia Jackson– didn’t sing one solitary song in English. She didn’t need to. With her charming and exotic broken-English accent she gave us the gist of each tune, and with body language that would leave Tina Turner in the shade, she most certainly engaged, enchanted and energised the more than appreciative audience. A standing ovation was the least we could offer this ‘Tower of Song’. …