Government has received a damages claim for alleged bungling over this year's Culture Fest.

And it has been asked to provide a $500,000 budget for an international concert in Bermuda.

Dread & Baha Productions claim their organisation of Culture Fest was thrown into turmoil by the Tourism Ministry.

Two of their accusations are that the Ministry, without their knowledge or agreement: Incorporated the event with Jazzscape -- last weekend's jazz festival featuring such stars as George Benson -- and caused Culture Fest to lose its identity. Under the arrangement, musicians from the Tourism-sponsored Jazzcape were to play at Culture Fest.

This, say Dread & Baha, cast a slur on Culture Fest because of the controversy in which overseas musicians apparently refused to perform on the same stage at Jazzscape as their Bermudian counterparts; and Directed that one day of Culture Fest be moved from its normal venue, Dockyard, to St. George's -- causing Dread & Baha Productions to lose revenue from sponsorship.

The proposed move, Dread & Baha Productions claim, meant the festival was reduced from the traditional two days to one. In the event, Culture Fest took place on October 13 at Dockyard.

Dread & Baha Productions, embroiled themselves in controversy over their disputed claims to be Culture Fest organisers, have now sent a letter to Tourism Minister David Dodwell.

In the letter -- leaked to The Royal Gazette -- they seek $125,000 from the Tourism Ministry for their role in the festival and for alleged damages.

They have also asked the Ministry to consider providing a $500,000 budget for Culture Fest Unity in the Community World Vibe -- a proposed concert boasting such international stars as singer Stevie Wonder.

Alternatively, they have asked to be awarded the promotion contract for future Jazzscapes.

In addition, they want the Ministry to put up $28,000 sponsorship cash for a TV Culture Fest documentary.

Tourism director Gary Phillips said the letter had been hand-delivered to his office.

"I have been too busy to look at it in detail and I have no comment.'' He said Mr. Dodwell was in a similar position and could not comment.

In the past the Ministry of Community and Cultural Affairs has sponsored Culture Fest, which features a mix of ethnic food stalls, arts, crafts displays and live entertainment.

But this year, because of cash constraints, it did not do so.

This year's event was tied in with Jazzscape whose promoters wanted the cultural event to help make their idea work.

Dread & Baha's claims to be organisers of Culture Fest were hotly disputed by a West End Development Company (Wedco) spokesman.

He said Wedco had always organised the festival with the help of the Bermuda Arts Centre in Dockyard.

"We were stunned to hear the Department of Tourism received a bill in excess of $650,000.

"I don't know what Dread & Baha are talking about. We have worked hard to establish a reputable, successful and totally uncommercial operation.

"We have never signed a contract, nor had any official dealing with Dread & Baha.'' The spokesman said he only heard about Dread & Baha a year ago, although he accepted the group had played a role in this year's festival, raising funds for it and organising TV slots on it.

He added it was "nonsense'' to claim Culture Fest was reduced to one day because the Tourism Department transferred the venue on Saturday to St.

George's.

"It was cut to one day because the Community and Cultural Affairs Ministry withdrew funding for the event.'' Dread & Baha co-ordinator Andrew Phillips was adamant that his group -- which started about 18 months ago -- were the organisers.

"We have documentation from Government Ministers to prove this.'' He said one of those who helped to found Culture Fest in 1979 was Gladwin Simmons, also a coordinator of Dread and Baha Productions.

"Culture Fest Bermuda is designed to promote unity in the community by the community in Bermuda.

"Culture Fest World Vibe is designed to promote unity in the community under the same guidelines and to promote them on a world basis by using Bermuda as a base.'' In their letter to Mr. Dodwell -- written before Jazzscape -- Dread & Baha criticised the Tourism Ministry.

"In effect, by incorporating Culture Fest into Jazzscape, you have automatically placed Jazzscape into the very preferential position of being able to draw from our guaranteed minimum daily gate of 10,000 people.

"While we encourage any attempt to promote Bermuda internationally, your trying to accommodate Jazzscape has caused us to lose revenue and also to lose face with the business community and local musicians.

"Our whole slate of local musicians has been cut in half and the local musicians are angry with us.'' The letter continued: "We lost revenue from being forced to freeze preliminary events leading up to Culture Fest for one week due to the arbitrary moving of one day of our event to St. George.'' "We are currently quantifying our loss and would like to meet with you urgently before Jazzscape actually starts to discuss the matter.

"We are considering our goodwill, lost revenue from advertising with sponsors of Culture Fest, lost revenue from the $155,000 in projects we had to forego to do the amended version of Culture Fest this year and a percentage of the gate from Jazzscape.'' The letter stated Dread & Baha Productions only found out about the "marriage'' of Culture Fest to Jazzscape through advertising.

"We were later intricately involved as a business in Jazzscape though no mention was made of remunerating us...We were, in effect, partners with and/or agents for your department though the financial aspect has not been addressed.'' Lawyer for Dread & Baha Productions, Patricia Harvey, declined to comment.