- from the calypso "Irie Tempo" by Lord Laro

A bit of wire, some cloth, perhaps some feathers, spray paint, glue, sequins of course and don’t forget beads and fake bling bling. Now add to that a deep love of the art, days, weeks, months of sleepless determination and an imagination that reaches beyond what is familiar and ordinary and seeks the very source of fantasy.

These are the ingredients vital to making the greatest show on earth.

Some names will forever be emblazoned in our history as having made, changed and furthered the magic of carnival and mas. Mas’ men George Bailey, Edmund Hart, Wayne Berkely, Harold Saldenah, Irvin McWilliam and Cito Velasquez to name a few. Each with their own genre and style, brought glittering, fun filled mas to the streets of Port of Spain.

Then early one morning at the Queen’s Park Savannah, as things were being put in place for the competition of bands, everything changed. The fog had not yet lifted off the St. Ann’s hills when suddenly, as if by divine decree, the mist shifted and hundreds – no - thousands of butterflies appeared to descend from the heavens. It was the year 1982 and ‘Papillion’, Peter Minshall’s contribution to mas, became his gift to carnival history.

Mas has taken on a completely new look and feel. The costumes now tend to appear more fluid and the masqueraders now seem to be the costumes rather than to simply carry them. The page had turned in the annals of carnival and mas.

Many countries have borrowed from the majesty of the Trinidad and Tobago carnival. Canada is one such offspring with Toronto’s Caribana heralded by many as no simple achievement. Admittedly most of the bands and costumes are smaller than those of its parent but the parade that dances along Lakeshore Blvd. is a wonderful example of the best of carnival. Caribana may also be the most noteworthy carnival ambassador. Toronto is known for its multi-ethnic population. On this canvas, the carnival comes to a world audience. People who would never have the opportunity to experience the immense spectacle in Trinidad can here behold its most prestigious offspring.

Caribana has come a long way over the years. Bands once had only a few revellers in simple dress in a small trickle down Yonge Street or University Avenue. Today, thousands of brightly and yes, sometimes scantily dressed masqueraders, surge along in the largest, most spectacular costume parade in North America.

Each year, on the Thursday before the parade, the King and Queen costumes command the stage at Lamport Stadium to stun and entertain the audience. Toronto is home to top band leaders who take their own pride of place in the history of the art. Errol Achue, Jessy Matthews, Louis Saldenah, Whitfield Belasco, Arnold Hughes are some of the names of Toronto’s ‘mas gurus’. These are the people who have helped usher Caribana’s Kings and Queens into an era of wonder.

While the regular masquerader’s costume may be getting scantier, any patron who has attended the King and Queen show over the years can attest to the evolution of the major costumes, from small, static mas to costumes of breathtaking size and dynamics. Without doubt, Toronto has come of age.

The future of the costumes is a vast open space. Each year we are amazed at what appears out of the ether of imagination. More and more, technology is being used in the mas creations with employment of the precision sciences of mechanical engineering and programmable logic control. Art and life imitate each other and with each advance science takes, those at the forefront of the carnival culture move along with it.

Understandably however, some resist these changes fearing that the past will be lost but others argue that nothing is ever lost but simply becomes foundation for more detail and better designs. Even the more traditional ‘indian’ mas, known for its liberal use of feathers has evolved into designs with even more fantastic plumage and colour, added depth and intricacy and remains prominent in carnival.

The Kings and Queens – the Royalty of Carnival, earn our respect and awe. Few things remain as such pure and wondrous examples of what human ingenuity and creativity can achieve.

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