It is early morn. Dawn is just breaking over the warm waters of the Caribbean. A British frigate is sailing through the islands loaded with fine laces and linens and other furnishings meant for the fancy ladies and homes of British plantation owners. In the growing light, the sailors on deck notice a smaller, faster ship coming up on their starboard side. Suddenly, as it draws closer, its flag, which looked French, disappears and in its place rises one with a black background, a skull and crossbones in the center-the Jolly Roger, dreaded symbol of pirates everywhere.
For Labor Day J’ouvert 2015, in their presentation, The Jolly Roger – Pirates & Mermaids, Roy Pierre & Associates will reenact such an event, the ensuing capture of lords and ladies, with their wigs and their trunksful of jewels and gold and pearls. In the battle, many pirates perish, and their encounter with beautiful mermaids in the rapturous deep, forms part of the dramatic tableau the band will be featuring.
With a cast of characters including infamous pirates such as Blackbeard and Calico Jack and Captain Morgan, female pirates such as Anne Bonnie, Mary Read, and Sadie The Goat, swashbucklers like Sir Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh, followed by sections such as Plunderers, Shipwreck Sallies, Rose Bloods, the Shanghai Crew, Deckhands and Riggers, interacting with shimmering, seductive Mermaids, once again this 16-time Band of The Year winning organization promises an exciting display of costumes, with the usual full impact of street theater.
Costumes are on display nightly, from now until Sept. 6, 6 pm to 1 am, at the band’s new mas camp, 204 Parkside Ave., between Flatbush and Ocean avenues, obliquely opposite the Q train subway station. The band Pan Liberty will supply music. Join another winning spectacle. For further information, call (718) 282-1229, or (718) 462-5164.
