PHILIPSBURG–Rain or shine, revellers gathered in St. John’s on Sunday for the annual Grand Carnival Parade set to start at 10:00am. Musical trailers lined up and colour galore of mas players organised themselves in their respective troupes.

The parade started minutes after 10:00am, and bands and deejays started to strike up and get revellers in the mood for the long route.

Presidente and Coca-Cola distributed by CC1 St. Maarten sponsored the winner of this year’s Best Troupe which goes by the name of Blue E’toile Production. The lively bright colours were spotted from a mile away and onlookers applauded the design and showmanship of the costume sections. Troupe leader Nathalie Parotte was informed that she had won Best Troupe late on Monday evening.

Brenda Wathey’s Rio Productions competed this year. Wathey usually does not compete in the Best Troupe category, but decided to sign up this year with her Metamorphosis theme. Well-known politicians and businesspersons continue to support the troupe. One notion that was noticeable this year was that costumes for Wathey’s troupe were sold out although they were never showcased on social media. Rio also captured Best Individual Piece.

Last year’s winner Xscape the Band by Erica Fortuno captured the second runner-up title. Xscape continues to grow into a large troupe and is quickly becoming a household name with just a few years out. The theme for this year was Together We Rise and promoted National Pride in the face of the natural disaster the island survived.

Randolph Scott won the Best Float category for the fourth consecutive year.

Coordinator of the Grand and Second Day Parades Gina Illidge thanked all participants and troupe leaders for making the 49th annual Carnival Parade a success. Preparations are in full swing for the 50th anniversary of Carnival next year and groups are encouraged to start coming up with creative ways to make Carnival 2019 as enjoyable as this year’s fete.

The Second Day Parade on Monday was as much fun as the first, according to many jumpers. Residents came out again and stood alongside the streets to glimpse their favourite group dancing and showing off their costumes on the streets. The parade ended near Carnival Village close to 6:00pm and mas participants and onlookers visited the booths in the village before the ending of Carnival today, Wednesday.

Bron: Daily Herald