FOREDAY MORNING, July 31, will be its biggest ever in Crop-Over’s history.Bridgetown will come alive with 15 bands of night-time masqueraders, the largest the event has ever seen, and three times last year’s.Mark Massiah from the National Cultural Foundation said people were becoming more interested in the Foreday Morning jump: “Foreday Morning used to have a stigma attached to it, but people are recognising that it is now better organised,” he said.He said many of the current band leaders are young people, so more people want to be involved.Three leadersOne of the newest and biggest bands, Muddslyde, will hit the road with about 500 revellers.The band has three leaders, Chetwyn Stewart, Kamal Clarke and Chris John and is operating in collaboration with the popular Power X 4 band.Spokesman Stewart, who participates in many J’Ouvert Morning celebrations around the Caribbean, said he was looking forward to the jump this year, adding: “For years I have been looking to open a band for J’Ouvert in Barbados and it is good to see it getting bigger.”He also called for more people to get involved in J’Ouvert.“Instead of just watching from the road side, jump in a band and you will see that it will get much better,” Stewart said.Massiah also confirmed that there would be a slightly longer route this year, from Heliport on the Princess Alice Highway to Workbench on the Spring Garden Highway, rather than originating from the Pelican Craft Centre. The jump will then be followed by the Sunrise Beach Party on Brandons beach.Another new band added to the Foreday Morning jump, Island Fusion, has five young leaders who are all eager for the jump. Creative director Toni Thorne said she believed Foreday Morning had a lot of potential.“Foreday Morning can become a very big Crop-Over event in Barbados, but it is not given the necessary attention that it needs to grow,” she said.Thorne also said that they were bringing a young person’s perspective to Crop-Over because “we are the future band leaders for the festival and have to hold high standards.”She added: “This is our first time jumping and each year we are going to bring something to improve and at the same time maintain high standards that will not be compromised.”Thorne also mentioned that this year 80 members of the Tribe band from Trinidad and Tobago would be jumping with Island Fusion.
