Nation News: 7/26/2009.
MORE THAN 3 500 children in 18 costume bands displayed
trueCrop-Over festival fever, wiggling and wuking-up
across the stageat the National Stadium yesterday.
Eight school bands and ten private ones paraded before
a panel of judges,the beauty and folkloreof Barbados in
social, fun, political, and nature themes in the
Kraft/Farmer's Choice Junior Kadooment.
The young revellers assembled at the Lawrence T Gay
Primary School from about 9 a.m. Some excitedly ran around
in their colourful costumes, clearly enjoying themselves
even before they left for the National Stadium.
When the National Cultural Foundation music trucks
struck up popular tunes like In De Middle Ah De Roadand
What We Do, among others, the young revellers showed that
they cameto party hard.
Even intermittent drizzles could not stop the jam that
included parents who were almostas excited as the tiny
tots in the bands.
The little kings and queens strutted their stuff
admirably and eventhe tiniest tried their best to do their
routines under a blazing afternoon sun, before a
reasonably-sized crowd.
Renee Ratcliffeand St Gabriel School's Neverland got
the parade off to a lively start with fairies, mermaids,
and other fantasy creatures, while Belmont Primary's 200
focused on promoting Barbados' tourism with Tourism in De
Do.
The mini masqueraders in Kids On The Move, led by
Yasmin Vlahakis, presented Rhythmic Explosion 2K9 that
explored diverse dance cultures - "razz and all that
jazz" from Broadway, hula from Hawaiian, manipuri
from India and flamenco from Spain.
Top presenters Betty West and Gwyneth Squires, whose
bands boasted 400 and 520 children, respectively, were not
to be outdone.
West's For A Better Barbados colourfully portrayed
aspectsof agriculture, HIV/AIDS, medical services,
education and the environment.
Squires' Fan Fare was another explosion of colour and
creativity, featuring Kadooment themesand including a
sectionof Oriental fans drawing attention to Barbados'
diplomatic relationswith the People's Republic of China.
First-timers St Stephen's Primary School, who also had
400 children, was all about Festivals And We, while the
ever consistent Reggie Cave brought culture and history
with the Legacy of King Ja Ja.
St Giles Primary celebrated 35 Years Of Festival;
Luther Thorne Primary was Lighting Trails; Wesley Hall
Infants were Cooking On King Street; Roland Edwards
Primary showcased the Essence Of Crop Over; Welches
Primary was all about the S in Barbados; Boscobel Primary
was shiny with Golden Legacies; and St Bartholomew's
Primary brought their cute little Warriors Of Ancient
Civilisation.
Bush Hall Masqueraders brought Bridgetown Market to the
Stadium; Vision 20-20 Community Club introduced a bitof
Obamamania to demonstrate local potential with Yes, We
Can; while Wednesday 2000 highlighted the featuresof My
Bajan Sunday. (TM/LB/NB)
