Vincentian-owned Mas Productions Unlimited to portray "Inca" in Brooklyn junior carnival
The 33-year-old band will field about 50 young masqueraders in four sections in the Junior Band category.
NEW YORK, United States. The Vincentian-owned mas band Mas Productions Unlimited will portray "Inca" at this year's West Indian American Day Carnival in Brooklyn.
The band shares the theme with SVG Players International of St Vincent and the Grenadines, for which band leader Wesley Millington is a designer.
Millington, a veteran Vincentian mas producer in Brooklyn, said "Inca" would compete in the Junior Band category with four sections: Inca Princes, Inca Princesses, Temple Dancers and Ceremonial Dancers.
He said he is catering for about 50 masqueraders.
Open to all
"In accordance with the unlimited part of our name, we do not limit our participants," Millington said. "As a result, we get kids with varying origins."
"Our goal is to involve the kids, so they can enjoy and appreciate this aspect of the culture and thus preserve this part of our heritage," he added.
He said the band no longer produces an adult band in New York, but hopes to engage a new generation of masqueraders.
Three decades on the road
Mas Productions Unlimited, now 33 years old, has taken part in every West Indian American Day Carnival except during the Covid-19 years, Millington said.
The band was the idea of the late mas producer Sam Debique, "who brought together a group of Vincentians, with varying involvement in carnival, to create a Vincentian presence in this New York Carnival."
Millington said the band is maintained by its members and supporters of its fundraising events.
"As a former child masquerader, I know the importance of introducing children to the art form," he said. "Kiddies Carnival is literally the future of all carnivals. Our primary focus is to make sure the kids have fun."
"All preparations are on course," he added. Masqueraders will move to music from DJ M1.
The mas camp is at 1504 Remsen Avenue in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
