Virtual Guyana Carnival parade set for Independence

The Guyana Carnival committee is set to host a virtual masquerade parade on Independence Day, May 26, after its planned celebrations were scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guyana Carnival, now in its third year, was expected to run from May 20th to May 27th with a series of events slated for each day. However, due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, the events have been postponed until 2021, providing that the outbreak is controlled and that social gatherings are allowed.

During the time that Guyana has instituted curfew measures to contain the spread of the virus, the Guyana Carnival committee in collaboration with Duck & Drake Promotions held a series of virtual parties using conference calling application Zoom. The “Virtual Fetes” started with the “Stag in Ya Yard” on March 31st to encourage persons to stay home and adhere to the social distancing protocols. An “All Black” edition, a Pajama Party and an Old School fete have also been hosted virtually and have attracted hundreds of participants on the application and thousands of viewers on the Guyana Carnival Facebook page, where they were streamed. Other virtual fetes have been held this month.

Director of Guyana Carnival Kerwin Bollers told Sunday Stabroek that when they started the virtual parties, the vision was to provide a fun environment for persons during this time as there is a concern about the mental health of persons who have been home for an extended period. “It’s just creating that environment…. For them to party in their living rooms, turn on their cameras and get dressed,” Bollers said, while adding that the series of events are not just to keep the “hype” around Guyana Carnival but to also provide entertainment for persons who have been home all the time with no other activities due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

Bollers added that with the virtual masquerade parade to be held on Tuesday, the committee wanted to take the virtual parties to another level as that day was expected to be the parade day. He added that it will be four hours of interaction and entertainment even as parts of the virtual experience will be aired on the Hits and Jams television station and radio. “It’s trying to create that type of vibe for you to visualise if you were on the road on carnival day, some of the things you probably would’ve been doing,” the director said.

The “Mas Day” experience is set to begin at 1pm on Tuesday with makeup tutorials from some of the top makeup artists in Guyana to provide that feeling of getting ready to hit the road. There will also be interviews with some of the promoters of the regular carnival events that are usually hosted and would have been hosted this year. Live performances are also to be expected during the virtual parade from local artistes like Timeka Marshall, Brandon Harding, Steven Ramphal, Jumo, Big Red and more along with a lineup of DJs.

“The whole idea is to provide entertainment, a lot of people are going to be home for you to get that feel because we know that it is difficult to people to adapt to being indoors all the time so we’re trying to create that virtual party that persons could participate in,” he further explained, while adding that persons can even wear old costumes from the previous years if they have them to experience the carnival feeling even during the outbreak. “Certain parts of it will be interactive, so persons at home, if it is they wanna dress in their old costumes from Guyana Carnival or any other carnival… because we expect people from not just Guyana to be tuned in,” Bollers added.

The links to join the Guyana Carnival’s upcoming virtual fetes can be found on the Guyana Carnival’s Instagram and Facebook pages.