Winds blow Senior King competitors out of running

The forces of nature blew two of the front-runners for the Senior King of the Band 2024 out of the competition on Wednesday evening.

The wind across the Queen's Park Savannah stage knocked over Ravi Lakhan’s Zeus – King of the Gods, and forced Ted Eustace almost to sprint across the stage with his presentation of Dracotaur – Lord of the Under Seas.

The two did not place in the top ten finalists, who will go on to compete on Sunday during Dimanche Gras.

Moko jumbies also struggled with the wind, with Tekel Kidale Sylvan choosing not to wear his almost six-foot-tall headpiece across the stage.

Despite this, three moko jumbies made it into the finals: Glen De Souza – Grand Voleur; Adrian Young – Masquerade of Tradition; and Russell Grant – Boson Jumbie.

The winds also affected the portrayal of several of the queen costumes. Both the lone moko jumbie, Shynel Brizan, portraying Asase Asamando, and Marie Eligon, portraying Mama Glo visibly struggled with the wind and neither was among the top ten. They placed third and second respectively in the 2023 competition.

Queens in the finals:

Dana Rampersad – Flight of the Monarch Butterfly

Savitri Holassie – Azalea the Serpent Sorceress

Roxanne Omala – Queen Tarantula

Takeya Fletcher-Marshall – The Dream Catcher

Laura Rampersad – Princess Takara

Maria Davis – Mystical Warrior Queen: Celebrating the Strength of a Black Woman

Elizabeth Lucas – Dance Annie Dance, A Tribute to Tourist Annie

Peola Marchan – African Monarch Butterfly

Turona Rambharose Mora – Water is Life

Priya Nagassar – Mother Nature – Beauty of Nature

Kings in the finals:

Raymond Mark – Spirit Dance – Celebrating the Ancestors

Fareid Carvalho – Aktapas

Adrian Young – Masquerade of Traditions

Joseph Lewis – Xhirkomak – Lord of The Underworld

Russell Grant – Boson Jumbie

Arif Grantum – Guardian of the Mystical Realm

Marlon Rampersad – Spirit of Panthera Leo

Glen De Souza – Grand Voleur

Erron Sookdeo – Wind – The Raw Power of Nature

Keston Benthum – Zanshim – The Age of Awareness: The Samurai’s Quest