This year marks the 25th anniversary of Roy Pierre & Associates participation in Labor Day J’ouvert celebrations in the borough of Brooklyn. This band also played mas at the very outset of the Eastern Parkway Parade, from 1971-1977, winning the Band of the Year title in 1974 with “Midnight at the Oasis.”
Last Saturday, the band successfully launched its 2018 presentation, “All Hands on Deck” (A Sailor is a Sailor), a nautical extravaganza, including Vikings and Firemen and Seabees and modern-day Yachties, coming full circle back to the early days of the famous sailor bands of Belmont. This will also be a tribute to legendary King Sailor and bandleader extraordinaire, Jason Griffith.
In a merger of small business, fine arts and carnival culture, our mas camp this year will be at a new venue, one where beautiful artwork often decorates the walls — the Creme & Cocoa Creamery, 1067 Nostrand Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11225, between Lefferts Ave. and Lincoln Road, where costumes will be on display nightly, 6 pm-midnight, from Aug. 3 till Labor Day Sunday, Sept. 2. Visitors can also savor the variety of goodies concocted by the friendly hosts Omar and Astrid, proprietors of this delightful establishment.
Known for their unique presentations, beginning with Afrocentric (1993), in kente cloth and dashikis, the band continued to grow, with such memorable productions as “Let Dem Eat Cake” (1996), “The Governor’s Ball” (2011), “Havana Nights” (2016), and last year’s wonderful “Untamed.”
Roy Pierre & Associates, 16 times J’ouvert Band of the Year winners, promise participants in their 2018 production a fantastic experience, as always, with road music by Pan Liberty. Come, join us in another winning spectacle!
For more information, Roy Pierre 718 282-1229 or Mervyn Taylor 718 462 5164.
