Branches Mas Band to bring ‘Tribal Colors’ to Eastern Parkway on Labor Day
Trinidadian-American designer Ciara Bartholomew says about 252 masqueraders will play in the band founded by her grandfather in 1995.
NEW YORK, United States. Branches Mas Band is ready to hit Eastern Parkway at the 59th annual West Indian American Day Carnival Parade in Brooklyn this Labor Day, according to its Trinidadian-American designer, Ciara Bartholomew.
Bartholomew told Caribbean Life the band would portray “Tribal Colors”.
“The name comes from the diversity of what we create and how we like to design things from different backgrounds of nationalities, as well as go outside the ‘normal’ carnival designs,” she said.
The sections
The presentation has six adult sections and one junior section: The Tropical Empress, The Ember Reign, The Kaleidoscope Carnival Queen, The Turquoise Ember, The Carnival Kaleidoscope, The Crimson Empress and The Blush Empress.
Each section has 36 masqueraders, about 252 in total, of all ages and from backgrounds across the Caribbean.
Bartholomew, who began designing at 14, said she wanted people “to feel like themselves and wear garments that feel like them”.
“We go down the parkway like it’s a part of our soul and become one with the music and the vibes of the audience,” she said.
Music and history
Music will come from DJ Nose and Son from Trinidad and Tobago and two DJs from Canada, with speakers on a float.
Bartholomew said preparations were “going well and coming together” with help from friends and family.
The band was founded in 1995 by her grandfather, Edwin Worrell, “to keep children off the streets”.
“At the time, children in Trinidad would be on the streets causing trouble,” she said, “so he decided that, since the children enjoy being of the street, why not have them on the street for a fun and safe way.”
