Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/3788/-1/140/
|
'Just Say No' Parade August 5
|
This year, the Children’s Parade, part of the Summer Festival activities, will have as its theme Just Say No. It is a call for persons in Anguilla to refrain from certain behavioural patterns which are not in the best interest of the island or their own wellbeing.
|
|
Vivet Cramer of St. Vincent modelling a costume
|
Festivals Coordinator, Fitzroy Tomlinson, spelled out the theme at a press briefing on Tuesday, July 25, at the old cottage hospital building which houses the Workshop Initiative for Support in Education (WISE) in Anguilla.
“Last year the parade just did not happen, so this year we are on a move to revive the Children’s Parade,” he stated. “This year’s theme is Just Say No to crime and violence; to the use of drugs (cocaine and marijuana or cannabis); the destruction of the environment; and to the spread of HIV/AIDS.”
Collette Jones, a national of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been contracted to design and build the costumes to depict all aspects of the theme. Her work is now finished and will be handed over to the Festivals Office. Arrangements are being made for a number of school children and coordinators to fit on the costumes and to get ready for the parade.
According to Mr. Tomlinson, the August 5 parade is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Moving from Coronation Park, the parade will proceed to the Roundabout opposite the Webster Park, over towards the Anglican Church; down the road at Keene Enterprise, across the road east of Fair Play and back to Coronation Park where there will be various fun day activities. The Festivals Office is endeavouring to involve some three hundred children in the parade. Up to Tuesday, this week, there were about sixty children registered and the hope is that many more will be attracted to participate.
|
|
One of the costumes for the childrens parade
|
Ms Jones spoke about her designs: “The Environmental Unit has three designs - one representing the maintenance, cleanliness and preservation of the environment,” she explained. “So we are saying no to the destruction or pollution of the environment; then another design says no to the destruction of the sea and the water world; and the other is for the preservation of wild life represented by a turtle and fifteen trackers.
“There are three costume designs for the Police Force: Say no to drugs, depicted in green; say no to burglary depicting a window frame; and say no to guns and knives depicted on hair dresses.
“There are also costumes saying no to HIV/AIDS. There are two major pieces: one is a huge red and white piece showing what AIDS is; then there is a costume which depicts a new world without AIDS using colours representing all the people of the world. It is extremely bright and colourful on a white background so we are showing purity without AIDS. Then I have another section which represents ghost-like people…to show how AIDS can lead to the degradation of the entire body. That’s done in black and white. That section that looks like a crab – which shows that AIDS is also a cancer and it can deteriorate the body quickly.”
It is understood that the children wishing to wear the costumes mostly favour the very colourful ones depicting the environment and tend to shy away from those representing drugs, guns, knives and HIV/AIDS although these costumes are simply intended to get certain messages across to persons on the island.
The Festivals Office is appealing to parents to permit their children to register for the parade so that there could be a large participation in the event.
In the photograph on the front page, Vivet Cramer, an assistant costume-maker from St. Vincent, is modelling one of the creations.
One of the costumes for the childrens parade
|