Rain fails to rein in parade

DESPITE heavy showers and the resulting slipperiness of the Savannah stage, Joseph Lewis and Shynel Brizan gave captivating performances to win NCC’s King and Queen of Carnival 2019 on Wednesday night.

Speaking yesterday, Alan Vaughan, designer of the queen of the band Moko Somokow, Mariella Shadow of Consciousness, portrayed by Brizan, said goosebumps took over his body when he heard one of his designs placed first.

The king of the band was placed second – A Peacock becomes the Windows of the Universe, portrayed by Tekel Sylvan.

Vaughan told Newsday both masqueraders put on incredible performances. He said they both risked their lives because the rain made the stage slippery.

“It was very difficult to move those costumes across that stage, but they both performed very, very well. They showed off those costumes and brought it to life for the audience.

“The masqueraders brought something extra-special to their performances and they also had perfect balance. The stage was so wet. It is very, very dangerous for moko jumbies to cross on a wet stage.”

Describing the queen costume, Vaughan said Mariella had existed like “a shaft of fantastical shapely dust in the sun, a fleshly shadow in his consciousness. She is at once a muse and a past lover on the would-be slaver’s journey upriver, and a riverside village bore her name.”

Brizan told Newsday when her name was called to perform, “I was a bit frightened last night (Wednesday), because rain fell all night and it had a lot of wind. By the time I was going on the stage it was not so bad, except for the wet stage.

“I felt overwhelmed that we won this competition. This is the third time I am entering the competition and the first time I made it to the finals to take first place.”

King of Carnival Lewis said despite the rain he had no difficulties in portraying his costume – Ghelgath, the Demon Lord of Ice, from the band Antourage Production. Lewis said he had a very smooth and enjoyable presentation. He said the costume was designed by Varma Leo Lakhan and built by Sheldon Lewis, Lakhan and himself.

“Although the stage was slippery, thanks to the shoes I was wearing I had no difficulties. I felt happy we won the King competition.” Lakhan said the costume cost approximately $85,000. The costume, carried on three wheels, stands 30 feet high and 28 feet wide. It was built from fibreglass rods, aluminium, fabric, cotton, foil, sequins and plastic moulding, and was airbrushed by Jazzie Azziz.