World Steelpan Day

August 11^th is World Steelpan Day, declared by Pan Trinbago. When French planters arrived in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1700s, they brought the carnival tradition, and their slaves formed their own festival. In the 1930s, the steel pan was originally made with metal objects, including car parts, paint pots, dustbins, oil drums, and biscuit tins. A series of dents were hammered into the metal surface, and each one created a different note according to its position and size. While the British government tried to ban it, this instrument made out of industrial waste has become an icon of Trinidadian culture!