BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - AS the exceedingly successful Tractorcade concluded, members of the Sandy Point community and neighbouring villages gathered at Sandy Bank to witness the grand opening ceremony of the Sandy Pointer Inspiring Real Improvement Throughout (SPIRIT)'s Black San bang-a-Lang festival.
Attendees were first treated to a few of the "Black San' Minutes" - one minute video advertisements about the highly anticipated festival - that had them roaring with laughter.
The official opening ceremony began and saw a number of prominent individuals such as the Hon. Shawn Richards and King Socrates recapping some of the most memorable moments and paying tribute to those persons who played a part in making last year's festival the massive success it was.
Acknowledgments were given for Best Bang-a-Lang MC, Dirty Maid and Butler, Farmer Joe and Farmer Jane of Tractorcade 2012, Black San' Photo of the Year, Best Ms. Black San' Xpression, Best Black San Volunteer, If You Mek It You Good, Best Festival Blooper, and The Price Is Not So Right.
The five young ladies vying for the title of the LIME Ms. Black San' Swimsuit Pageant were showcased and the audience went wild as they graced the stage and each gave a synopsis of what is in store for all who attend the much looked-forward to event.
The beauties this year are Masinda Nibett, Jascer Hobson, Shenelle Isaac, Sidamo Jones and Anita Sullivan.
Persons may text to 7568 the first three letters of the contestant’s name they would like to see win the Ms. Photogenic title.
Also showcased were the costumes for the festival's Parade Day troupes. This year interested persons have a total of six costumes from three troupes to choose from.
The troupes include Hypnotica - Blue Coral; Broadway, and Estates in Sandy Point which is being presented by Sean 'Bucksy' Crossley and Banker’s Mass Camp.
This year, the children's troupe is dubbed "Easter Eggs and Bunnies". This troupe was also presented by Crossley and Banker's Mass Camp in collaboration with Junior SPIRIT.
The ceremony also saw performances by the Creative Soul Dancers, Chester B and LIR, while the energetic Lights Out Band rocked the Hard Court during intermissions.
The highlight and wind-down of the evening was the lighting of 100 sky/wish lanterns that were sent floating in the sky.
According to SPIRIT's PRO Che-Rainer Warner, the community members were invited to write a wish, light the lanterns and watch them float away with the hope that the wishes would come through for Sandy Point.
Speaking with another SPIRIT member, he explained that the idea of using the sky/wish lanterns derived from the need to be economical while still being distinctive.
"We wanted to be unique. We are always looking for uniqueness all around but this time we wanted to do something that was inexpensive but still impactful, and so we came up with the sky/wish lanterns as it is something that has never been done in St. Kitts."
Persons were invited to the Old Recreation Ground and 100 of them were given the auspicious opportunity to make a wish for Sandy Point, light a lantern and watch it float away into the night sky.
Watching the lanterns float away was an awe-inspiring experience as many in attendance had never seen anything like that before.
Sky lanterns, also known as Kongming Lantern or Chinese lanterns are airborne paper lanterns constructed from oiled rice paper on a bamboo frame, and contain a small candle or fuel cell composed of a waxy flammable material.
When lit, the flame heats the air inside the lantern, thus lowering its density causing the lantern to rise into the air. The sky lantern is only airborne for as long as the flame stays alight, after which it slowly floats back to the ground.
The action continues this Easter weekend with the SPIRIT Game Show (Apr. 5), Giant Malt & Ginseng Endurance Bike-a-Thon (Apr. 6), Black San' Drama Festival (Apr. 6), TDC Family Affair Carnival (Apr. 7), LIME Ms. Black San' Swimsuit Pageant (Apr. 8), Pre J'Ouvert Party (Apr. 8), and Black San' J'Ouvert Street Wet Dung and Beach Bash (Apr. 9).
