Last year, the Brooklyn-based Vincentian mas band Mas Productions Unlimited lured “International Treasures” in its West Indian American Day Carnival Parade production, but this year it is flying with the “Wings of Wonder,” said Wesley Millington who hails from Sion Hill, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as he prepares children masqueraders Monday night for a photo-shoot at the mas camp on Rockaway Parkway in Brooklyn.
“They all have wings, and nobody ever saw them,” added Millington in an exclusive Caribbean Life interview. “So, you are left to wonder what they look like.”
With the annual participation of the Belizean New York Committee, Millington said “Wings of Wonder” will compete in the Junior Carnival, with four sections — three girls and one boy — with about 15-20 masqueraders in each section.
The girls’ sections are: Fairies, Sprite and Pixes. Elf is the lone boy section.
Millington said Mas Productions Unlimited will also compete in the Junior King, Junior Queen and Individual Characters competition.
“This is just, basically, to keep the kids involved in the culture,” said Millington, whose band has been competing in the West Indian American Day Carnival Parade for the past 24 years. “Most of the kids are born here [in the United States], of Caribbean parentage.”
“Masqueraders can expect a good show, lots of fun,” he added, disclosing that all are welcome. “Masqueraders come from all over. We don’t discriminate.”
He said veteran Vincentian mas producer Ricardo “Puzzle” Grant, as in previous years, is assisting with the production, along with members of the band.
“Hopefully, we’ll have a few kids, and have fun,” Millington said. “Registration is picking up.”
He said D One Entertainment will provide pulsating Caribbean vibes to masqueraders during the Junior Carnival.
Millington said some of his masqueraders will participate in Vincy Day USA in Long Island this Saturday, Aug. 20 and at the SVG-Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Showcase in Massachusetts the following Saturday, Aug. 27.
Over the years, he said, Mas Productions Unlimited has won, among other prizes, the Junior Queen, Children Band of the Year and Adult Medium Band of the Year in the West Indian American Day Carnival Parade.
The mas camp is located at 317 Rockaway Parkway, between Lenox Road and Linden Boulevard in Brooklyn. Millington can be reached at (718) 759-7766.
