The forces of nature blew two of the front-runners for the Senior King of the Band 2024 out of the competition on Wednesday evening.
The wind across the Queen's Park Savannah stage knocked over Ravi Lakhan’s Zeus – King of the Gods, and forced Ted Eustace almost to sprint across the stage with his presentation of Dracotaur – Lord of the Under Seas.
The two did not place in the top ten finalists, who will go on to compete on Sunday during Dimanche Gras.
Moko jumbies also struggled with the wind, with Tekel Kidale Sylvan choosing not to wear his almost six-foot-tall headpiece across the stage.
Despite this, three moko jumbies made it into the finals: Glen De Souza – Grand Voleur; Adrian Young – Masquerade of Tradition; and Russell Grant – Boson Jumbie.
The winds also affected the portrayal of several of the queen costumes. Both the lone moko jumbie, Shynel Brizan, portraying Asase Asamando, and Marie Eligon, portraying Mama Glo visibly struggled with the wind and neither was among the top ten. They placed third and second respectively in the 2023 competition.
Queens in the finals:
Dana Rampersad – Flight of the Monarch Butterfly
Savitri Holassie – Azalea the Serpent Sorceress
Roxanne Omala – Queen Tarantula
Takeya Fletcher-Marshall – The Dream Catcher
Laura Rampersad – Princess Takara
Maria Davis – Mystical Warrior Queen: Celebrating the Strength of a Black Woman
Elizabeth Lucas – Dance Annie Dance, A Tribute to Tourist Annie
Peola Marchan – African Monarch Butterfly
Turona Rambharose Mora – Water is Life
Priya Nagassar – Mother Nature – Beauty of Nature
Kings in the finals:
Raymond Mark – Spirit Dance – Celebrating the Ancestors
Fareid Carvalho – Aktapas
Adrian Young – Masquerade of Traditions
Joseph Lewis – Xhirkomak – Lord of The Underworld
Russell Grant – Boson Jumbie
Arif Grantum – Guardian of the Mystical Realm
Marlon Rampersad – Spirit of Panthera Leo
Glen De Souza – Grand Voleur
Erron Sookdeo – Wind – The Raw Power of Nature
Keston Benthum – Zanshim – The Age of Awareness: The Samurai’s Quest
[caption id="attachment_1062364" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Ravi Lakhan in his portrayal “Zeus - King of Gods” in the Fantasy category during the National Carnival Commission Senior King of Carnival preliminaries at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain on February 1. - Photo by Daniel Prentice[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1062363" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Ted Eustace in his potrayal “Dracotaur” in the Original category during the National Carnival Commission Senior King of Carnival preliminaries at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain on February 1. - Photo by Daniel Prentice[/caption]
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