Cumm Cross Production

Dynasty Production

D’ Midas International

D’ Horizons

Island Pride Inc.

Mudd Band

Mas Players

Soca & Associates

T&T Social Club

Unity Sports

This is some of the organizations responsible for the annual Trinidad style carnival (Boston Carnival). They came from the Caribbean, primarily from Trinidad and have been residing in Boston for several years.

If you are interested in volunteering to assemble costumes, play mas or sponsor a band, review the band’s profile and either contact the organization’s directly or get in touch with us.

During the month of August, Boston carnival is one of the largest cultural events taking place in the city and attracts several hundred thousand visitors each year since 1973. August is also designated Caribbean Week

The Future of We Carnival

The future of our carnival lives within the youths coming up. They are the ones that will carry on our long lived traditions. Why is it important to get them involved? Well, it’s like the black cake and sweet bread recipes that we can’t remember because our parents forgot to write them down. Sooner or later we won’t have the things we remember most about our past. Remember long ago when you had to have all new plastic curtains and the house had to be spotless from top to bottom for Christmas. We simply no longer have the time for all of that. Well let me say we have to have the time to pass on our traditions.

When we pass on traditions it gives our community pride. Why should we have pride? It gives us a sense of confidence and a place from whence we have come, a sense of community. Without that we have no roots. Carnival is not just about jumping up and having a good time. It is about creativity, perseverance, team work and determination. These are the qualities that we want to instill in our children.

Too many of our youths don’t know how rich their heritage is. We need to continue to teach them and make them feel proud about what they can contribute to our society.

Carnival is just one of our many traditions but it is an important one. We should be proud that we have the opportunity to bring our culture to areas outside of Trinidad and give others the avenue to discover the richness of Carnival. Carnival represents the strength of our ancestors that wanted a message told. We should continue to spread the message.

If you would like to get your children involved in Boston Carnival there are many bands to choose from. You can find a listing of bands on the Boston Carnival Village web site.

You can get a preview of costumes by visiting the mas camps or by going to a band launching. Each band displays their costumes early in the carnival season giving patrons an opportunity to view and choose a costume. This usually occurs in the months of June and July. It is important to choose a costume early because they are sure to sell out.

Visiting the mas camps can be an interesting experience for your youngster. There they will see mas in the making. Wire benders busy making king and queen costumes, decorators covering, putting braid and sequins on the mas, seamstress sewing costumes to be worn on the big day. The mas camp is a busy and productive place.

After you have chosen a costume you must get measured and put a deposit on your costume. The price of a kids costume ranges from $50-$75. You can also choose for your youngster to wear a more elaborate costume to compete with. These costumes can run anywhere from $300 to $1000. I would not invest in a larger costume for your child until they have participated in a few carnivals.

Kiddies Carnival starts off the carnival season with a bang each year. The Kiddies Carnival is held at White Stadium and the program includes competitions in the following categories: female and male individuals, Jr. King and Queen and the band of the year. The King and Queen Competition is where costumes compete to see who is the best of the best. They are usually very large and elaborately decorated. Each costume is judged on originality, spirit of carnival and craftsmanship. This is a serious competition where bragging rights is worth more than the monetary award.

If you think that these kids don’t take their mas seriously they do. You will notice some kids on the sidelines that don’t want to mess up their costumes because they want to look their best as the band goes up for competition. They make sure that their faces are painted and glittered up so that they look their best. There is nothing better than seeing those kids out there enjoying themselves and being proud of what they are doing in that moment.

Kiddies Carnival is a beautiful thing. It gives us hope that our carnival will continue

Publisher's Note: Wendy Matthews is the bandleader of Mas players and contributing writer for Boston Carnival Village magazine