Cultural Heritage wins Senior Carnival King and Queen
If you weren’t able to make it to the National Stadium on Saturday night you missed quite a show. This year the carnival King and Queen Contest showed that the costumes are getting more and more elaborate. This year, not only were lights used by some of the contestants but fireworks as well and it has left some bands questioning the rules. News Five was there to capture the night of glitter, color and lights.
(Musical Montage)
The Junior Carnival Queen is Crystal Archer of Jump Street Posse while her counterpart Harry Belgrave also of Jump Street Posse is Junior Carnival King.
The Senior Queen is Shaun McKoy Gill of Cultural Heritage while Stanley Lizama also of Cultural Heritage was crowned Carnival King. News Five spoke with some of the competitors.
Cherry Stuart, Second Place, Sixth Street Masqueraders
“We felt that we did our best, and we we’re happy that we took a place in both the King and Queen Competitions.”
Q: “How did you all react when you heard your name called?”
Cherry Stuart
“Joyfully. The kids were overjoyed. They were pleased and I am happy that some of the hard work that we put in, our committee, and our help from GEM, did pay off in some way.”
Saira Mahabir, Second Place, GEM Belize
“There is an issue about floats should not be judged and stuff like that, and the rules were not adhered to by most of the bands. I’m just going to put it like that.”
Q: “What do you mean when you say float? What’s the difference between a regular costume and a float?”
Saira Mahabir
“A float is any, well I shouldn’t say costume, any presentation being done without a masquerader. It’s a costume that can stand on it’s own, without anybody or anything in it.
We’re only stressing on the masqueraders right now; they are our priorities right now. King and Queen is finish and gone and over with but we’re almost there; we just have a little touching up work left to do but we’re almost there.”
Marina Welcome, First Place, Jump Street Posse
“From the time we went out there and saw the other costumes we knew we were going to be in the mix with something. We worked very hard and we try to produce our best.”
Q: “How did the children react?”
Marina Welcome
“They were overwhelmed, too happy to be true.”
Q: “Did you feel it was fairly judged on Saturday?”
Marina Welcome
“For the very first time I really did. The judges really took interest in the costumes. They really took a good peek at it. They touched it, felt it, they questioned you, so it went really fair.”
According to the Carnival Association, each judge is given a copy of the rules and it is ultimately their decision whether or not an entry can be judged. The costumes were judged for craftsmanship, originality, creativity, on-stage dancing and visual impact.
