THE REVELRY AND MERRIMENT normally associated with the launch of a Kadooment band was mixed with gloom and sadness when Ravurz held its band launch on Tuesday night.
Neither the bright and colourful costumes displayed nor the popular soca artists with their high-energy performances could dispel that feeling of sombreness which enveloped the Olympus VIP Theatre.
Yet, that sombreness was welcome and appropriate too as Ravurz, under the theme Forgotten Bim, But Not Forgotten Sasha, will this year pay tribute to aspects of old time Barbados and Ravurz’s section leader and volleyball player Sasha Best-Moore, who recently passed away from dengue haemorrhagic fever.
Marlene Wilson, public relations officer of Ravurz and MC at the launch, paused a number of times to keep her emotions in check during her speech about Sasha.
“Sasha was the life of the party and she would want us to keep the party going,” she said.
Wilson added that even before the costumes were released to the public, the orders were flooding in and continued to do so as more people heard about the band and wanted to jump on Kadooment Day in honour of Best-Moore.
All the costumes are meticulously designed in accordance with the theme of old-time Barbados and Forgotten Bim and sections include Old-Time Bajan Icecream, Old-Time Religion, Fashion, Old-Time Outhouse and Snow On The Mountain.
Wilson said the proceeds from any prizes would go towards ensuring that Sasha’s infant son was well taken care of.
In addition to the costumes, band members and patrons also got a sample of this year’s soca tunes as Peter Ram, Mikey, Brent, Lorenzo and Khiomal each performed a song from his 2012 Crop Over album. (SM)
