‘Band of the Year’ takes Road March lead

This was the case at several of the other judging venues at Adam Smith and Victoria Squares, and Downtown Port-of- Spain yesterday.

A poor turnout of patrons for the start of the 2006 Parade of the Bands, together with a lag in the few mas bands crossing the stage at the Queen’s Park Savannah (QPS) made yesterday’s parade drawn out, and by 2 pm only three large bands had crossed the stage.

Masqueraders had the good fortune of a sun-filled day still, there were very few small and medium bands, while several traditional mas characters were given the chance to display their costumes.

However, although there were few bands at a time waiting to cross the Savannah, each band impressively did not overstay their time on the stage, taking just one hour and under to give their portrayal." The first band to cross the stage around midday was the band Tribe, portraying "What Lies Beneath."

Many of the revellers chose to wear only pieces of their costumes, giving patrons and visitors only a view of t-shirts, short pants and jeans. Tribe remained on the stage for 45 minutes.

Harts 2k6, which is usually the first band to cross the stage every year, gave their portrayal of "Voyage BC" around 1 pm.

Trini Revellers with their portrayal "Rome The Empire" made their way onto the stage just around 2 pm, while Peter Minshall’s medium band "The Sacred Heart" gathered in a small group at the end of the stage to cross at 3 pm. Minshall’s band also did not wear any of their costumes, opting to wear white t-shirts with the "Sacred Heart" printed on it. Further down the Savannah track the band Skandal-us portraying "Havana" chipped and waved to their own beat, while further down Fredericks Street in Port-of-Spain, the band Legacy and Island People slowly made their way uptown. Popular large bands, Poison playing "Dreams," and Brian Mac Farlane’s "Threads Of Joy," were no where in sight near the Savannah.

The turnout at all the judging venues was, however, quite good with masqueraders coming out to enjoy their mas to the max, no doubt taking the advice of soca star Destra Garcia.