By Tiffny Rhodius
The 40th anniversary Mashramani costume band and float parade was a multitude of colours as revellers tramped through Georgetown yesterday, however the long gap between the attractions left many of the onlookers restless.
There were 31 floats participating in yesterday’s parade – the 40th anniversary of the country’s Republican status. From Church and Camp streets, all along Vlissengen Road and into the National Park, thousands from across the country lined the roadside to take in the sights.
Many families ensured that they were out early to get the best spots and with tents opened, mats spread and food in abundance, the gaily dressed people were abuzz with excitement as they took in the many floats that made their way into the National Park.
Along Church Street, Rookmin Armogan and her family had their chairs out and under the shade of a palm tree they took in the floats before they made their way onto Regent Street. Armogan said she was impressed with the floats which were more in number this year than last year.
En-route to the National Park persons milled about waiting for the floats to pass their way as temporary food and drink stalls were offering nourishment to keep the onlookers on their feet.
Other stalls and mobile vendors displayed their novelty wares that wowed the little ones. And as one Regent Street family fuelled up on food the mother shared that it was their first time coming out on the road to observe the floats. She said that they usually watch the parade on television and she noted that it was more fun being out than watching on television.
Another onlooker, Nicola Mathison, an overseas visitor experiencing her first Mash parade, expressed her absolute love of the floats, stating that the parade was “colourful, lively and full of energy”.
What started out as a rainy, overcast day eventually gave way to bright sun and as the sun got hotter the crowd of onlookers swelled.
Meanwhile, in the National Park the floats slowly trickled in and while the delay between floats was long and tiresome, persons still held on to their excitement in anticipation of viewing the floats. One family who came all the way from Mahaica said that they usually enjoy the floats but the patriarch stated the event should be better organised.
However another onlooker at the Park, Francis Canzius said that the event looked well-organised compared to a few years ago and he pointed out that it was his first time out observing the parade in three years.
One mother who was there with her two children said that she was enjoying the floats that had passed through the Park but noted that it got boring in the wait for more floats to arrive. She then went on to admire the participation of the children in this year’s Mashramani and opined that this year was far better than last year.
The Floats
A total of 31 floats were part of yesterday’s parade and included entries from ministries, regions and companies. Many of the floats joined the ‘going green’ bandwagon by backing the Government’s Low Carbon Development Strategy.
For the Ministries, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport rolled out one of the biggest floats with 300 revellers and three costumes. Under the theme “Creating a green era in a changing environment”, the costumes depicted the fight against global warming with alternative sources of energy such as hydropower, wind power and solar power. The other two costumes portrayed the Victoria Regia Lily in a nod to the country’s fauna and the costume bringing up the rear of this large group depicted some of the country’s achievements over the past 40 years.
The costume included the National Stadium and the control tower at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
The revellers meanwhile, in sections depicted the government’s LCDS with the letters L.C.D.S on top of their heads while another group included revellers dressed in a costume titled replanting of the rainforest and another group of revellers was dressed with flowers on their head which marked the country fauna.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony was at the head of the float with his permanent secretary as they tramped down the road to the music of the Mischievous Guys Band and Michelle ‘Big Red’ King. The costumes were created by the staff and students of the Burrowes School of Arts.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health were also among the impressive floats yesterday. The Ministry of Education outfitted in red and gold unleashed a well coordinated display in the National Park while the Ministry of Health was a colourful display of health protection measures.
The Ministry of Health `mashed down’ yesterday under the theme: “Protection from infection ensures a healthy population.
Other impressive floats included Region Four, the National Library and waking up the crowd at the National Park, the entrance of Slingshot and the Carib Beer float drew loud cheers from the crowd. Something the Emcees were not able to achieve.
Region Four’s float was a burst of colour and liveliness even though the group arrived at the Park late in the afternoon. With an impressive Canje Pheasant float and another which depicted the destruction of the forest, the revellers made their lap around the tarmac energetically for the judges.
And while Slingshot’s float did not make it to the Park because its vehicle broke down, the crowd did not mind because they broke out in cheers when they recognised him. He was present with his wife. Also exciting the crowd, the Carib Posse, which was over 200 strong this year, depicted three of the main factors for the success of tourism in Guyana – sun, sand and sea.
The varying shades of yellow in the costumes represented sun and sand and the vibrant blue represented the sea. The Carib Posse presented a choreographed dance for the judges as its costume bearer did her thing. The costumes were designed by Olympia Small-Sonaram.
As the floodlights at the National Park came on to illuminate the night, the revellers continued to roll in. Included in the late arrivals were Banks DIH and Digicel. Banks returns to the parade after four years with a 500-strong contingent under the theme “Our Country, Our Life and Our Beer” while Digicel took on pollution with costumes designed by Olympia Small-Sonaram.
