Tobago mas turns up late

At 2 pm yesterday in Tobago, the sun was scorching down mercilessly on the virtually empty capital. The few spectators kept to the shaded areas in front of buildings and at the Scarborough port.

The numbers grew rapidly as people from the country districts poured out of maxis, taxis and vans. They were all waiting expectantly. Then it was 4 pm, and ... “Look de band coming.” In fact, it was bands, as Gloria Stoute and Associates’ “Tribal Gathering” and Margaret Hinds and Associates’ “TT Nice,” each about 250 to 300-strong, converged on the port “Triangle” — an area at the junction of Carrington Street and Wilson Road. The mas was in town! Over on the port it was “mas” of a different kind as hundreds of campers with their assorted paraphernalia of 20-lb gas cylinders and pans and other Trinidadian passengers lined up in preparation to board the MF Panorama. This year, also, a significantly large number of Trinis chose to play mas in Tobago.

Back at the “Triangle” at around 4.30 pm, Fantasia Mas Production’s “Missing Link of The Pacific” took centre stage with about 200 masqueraders. Fifteen minutes later, the now swollen crowd of spectators drew back and gasped as the mud mas “Freedom” — a presentation of SKP and Associates, led by Sherrel Phillips, stormed through. It was the largest band up to that time.  Back at the port, the line of passengers also grew to massive proportions. Up to 5 pm, it had been a relatively incident-free Carnival in the sister island.
As evening fell, the masqueraders would have been all but forgotten and the thousands of spectators would take to the street in “last lap” gay abandon in a massive free-for-all party.