LIME Children’s Carnival Parade celebrates nation’s history

By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-THE colourful costumes of the Carnival season were on full display Wednesday (Dec. 31) as the children of St. Kitts-Nevis marched through downtown Basseterre for what some spectators called “the best Children’s Carnival Parade seen in years”.

The theme for the 2008 parade tied in closely with the Federation’s twenty-fifth anniversary of Independence.

William’s Masquerade Troupe began the parade on a high note, with children as young as five years old donning vibrantly cultural costumes and dancing through the streets to entertain the crowd of onlookers that lined Cayon, Church and Fort Streets.

The masqueraders were followed by a very dexterous display from a multi-school combined troupe of Majorettes skillfully twirling batons.

Keeping with St. Kitts-Nevis’ development through history, the first set of children in the parade marched under the banner of ‘The Early Settlers’. Their gold costumes shone brightly in the mid-afternoon sun, with wings radiating out and accented areas of black and white beneath the shiny gold.

They were followed by the ‘Europeans’ troupe which featured a simple blue and white base décor and a pinwheel of bright greens, oranges, blues and yellows behind each child.

The third grouping, ‘The Blood Shed’, presented a nearly monochromatic display of intense crimson that did appear to flood the streets like so much blood. Against the backdrop of the simple colour scheme, the spouting, waving feather boas of the children’s tail pieces looked quite elaborate and sent a powerful message.

The ‘Faces of Our Heroes’ zone followed with kids decked in forest green, sea blue, red and yellow, a seeming transition from the ‘Europeans’ colours into those of the national flag.  ~~Adz:Left~~

Not surprisingly, the final group of children marched under the banner of ‘Independence’ and had costumes exploding with the colours of the national flag colours.

The parade was rounded out by the Carnival group ‘Boyz on Bikes’, which was aimed at giving young boys a positive outlet to display their talent and keep them away from negative influences.

Cynthia Hull, Vice-Chairperson of the Carnival Committee and Executive Officer of Street Activities, said that she felt the 2008 LIME Children’s Carnival Parade was “much more elaborate and colourful” than that of 2007, and could only be deemed a success.