BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FOLKLORE is in the air! So much so that for the period December 19-21, persons who work in buildings lining Basseterre’s main thoroughfare, Fort Street, can merely peer through their office windows and capture a glimpse of some of the country’s more popular folklore activities.
Transformed into what is dubbed ‘Folklore Avenue’, Fort Street – which stretches from the Bay Road to Cayon Street – has become the home of several folklore groups from across the island, as part of the Sugar Mas’ 40/40 festivities.
The colourful costumes worn by and the sweet music which accompanies the mock-a-jumbies, bull troupes, mummies and clowns were enough to draw locals and tourists alike to the Avenue to observe a bit of the Federation’s rich culture.
The groups that have frequented Folklore Avenue over the past three days are Dennis Masquerade Troupe, the Mock-a-jumbies from Sandy Point, the Bull Troupe from Sandy Point, John’s Masquerade Troupe, Valon’s Masquerade Troupe, Sylvester’s Masquerade Troupe, the Clowns, Homebody Masquerade Troupe, the Mansion Bull, Finch’s Masquerade, the Mummies and Huggins’ Masquerades.
At any given time between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. during the three days, three or more of the group would provide entertainment for passersby with rotations being made at half-hour intervals.
The mock-a-jumbies, standing at impressive heights of more than 15 feet, never cease to draw people’s attention to them while the masqueraders decked in their colourful and eye-catching ensembles continue to be the most popular of the folklore activities.
The funniest seemed to be the bull troupe. The troupe entertained, yes, but some exercise extreme caution when passing in the vicinity of the bull because, sometimes without warning, he would give chase after one of the spectators causing them to flee in fear. This occurs much to the amusement of other spectators.
Coordinator of the folklore activities Ava Henry explained to SKNVibes that the Folklore Avenue idea was conceived some nine years ago by former Minister of Culture Ambassador Jacinth Henry-Martin.
“We know that on parade day we had quite a number of folklore groups but they couldn’t stop to do a full routine because of the time constraint. So she felt it would be nice to have them all in one space. She came up with the idea to block off Fort Street and get all the folklore groups to perform there. She asked me to coordinate it, and one of the things I look for when selecting a date is the number of cruise ships which would be visiting our shores. So we always try to put it on a day when we have a lot of tourists coming in.”
Henry explained that the success of the activity and the need for the folklore groups to gain more exposure were some of the factors which contributed to its longevity.
Over the years, it has been held over a two-day period but, according to Henry, owing to the 40/40 celebration an extra day was added this year.
And today (Dec. 22), Folklore Avenue will be returned to Fort Street.
