St James hosts traditional mas

Traditional Carnival characters will take over St James on February 8 when baby dolls, perriot grenades, bats, devil mas, fancy Indians, fancy sailors. jab jabs, dame lorraines, minstrels, clowns, moko jumbies and many more will converge at the Amphitheatre and Park, Western Main Road.

The St James Social and Cultural Committee in collaboration with the National Carnival Commission (NCC) Regional Carnival will stage the Traditional Ole Time competition with over 15 categories for both junior and senior masqueraders.

The event, almost 25 years since its inception, begins at 7 pm and is free. The competition is open to schoolchildren, individuals and groups Registration for both adults and children is free and can be done at either at Crosby’s St James, or calling 784 -0220.

Special tribute will be paid to those who passed on during the Covid 19 pandemic including Midnight Robber Rasheed Hosein, Bookman Benedict Morgan, Sailor Janet Bruno and authentic Indian Abzal Shaffie. A media release said chairman of the committee, Anthony Alleng, is appealing to corporate Trinidad and Tobago to support the venture and get more involved to ensure continuity. He noted that traditional mas will die without sponsorship.

In spite of the response, Alleng is determined to continue this tradition and is quite optimistic for its future, the release said. He pointed out that there has been an increase in participation by schoolchildren, a category he introduced almost a decade ago.

“Stakeholders must do better and work harder to keep TT’s culture alive because it is tradition.” he said.