Mas’ fever at high price

Monique Benskin (left) being assisted by (from left) section assistant with LIME Contact, Ronnette Burnett, and bandleader Anthony Layne. Benskin said high costume prices might deter her from continuing to participate in Grand Kadooment.

Adrian Graham (left) being fitted for a costume part by Valencia Mitchell of the Lucky Horseshoe Jump band.

Ooutraje secretary Sophia Chase pointing out the bags of costumes already sold, but yet to be collected. (Pictures by Nigel Browne.)

By Carlos Atwell | Fri, August 10, 2012 - 11:05 AM

This week Street Beat had the festival fever; so the team hit the highways and byways to talk with people about their feelings concerning this year’s Crop Over. Please note that all interviews were done Sunday, the day before Grand Kadooment.

An upbeat Marisa Bynoe was all excited about jumping in a Kadooment band for the first time.

Bynoe, whom the team spoke to in Worthing, Christ Church, said she always wanted to do it and wanted to jump to Li’l Rick as he came “hard” this year.

In terms of her concerns, the youthful lass had a problem with some aspects of this year’s festival and took aim at Foreday Morning.

“Foreday Morning wasn’t organized properly,” she charged. “Too much people [were] wearing costumes, which is not what it’s supposed to be about. Also, there was no 10 To 10 fete, and I used to like to go to that,” she said.

Monique Benskin, whom the team caught up with in Wildey, St Michael, was fuming that she had not received her costume early as accustomed from her band of choice LIME Contact.

As for her concerns about this year’s Crop Over, she said costume prices were just too high.

“I like the festival, I love the excitement, costumes and wukking up on the road, but costumes are too expensive and I don’t know that I can continue next year,” said Benskin, who has been jumping in Kadooment for the last five years.

In Bayville, St Michael, Errol Walcott was laden with bags filled with costumes for the three women in his life – but none for him.

“I am not jumping, but my wife will be for the first time since her operation,” he said.

“My two daughters will be jumping too; I will just go on the truck,” said Walcott, adding that this year’s Crop Over was better than ever.

“I find it’s getting better, both in spirit and crowd-wise,” said Walcott as he made his way across the Notre Dame Sports Club pasture.

Erskine Johnson was also spotted with bags of costumes. He said he was picking them up for his brother, uncle and himself. He said he used to be more active in Crop Over events but had restricted himself to Foreday Morning and Grand Kadooment this time around.

He said he would again be jumping with LIME Contact because “the bandleader easy to get along with and they take care of you on the road”.

Johnson said he was pleased with how this year’s festival was going.

However Adrian Graham said the festival had “flatlined and is not improving, but it’s not getting worse”. He stressed that he didn’t think it was dying and would continue participating in it as long as he was healthy.

Street Beat also spoke to Sophia Chase, the secretary of the Ooutraje band. She said 300 costumes had already been sold, and around 15 remained.

“We had a rush for the past two days and it is going steady. I guess with all the competitions, people get hyped and say ‘I have to jump now’,” said Chase, an indication that not all people were too concerned about the price of costumes.