Pupils Donte Beckles, Shiloh Springer, Tamia Watts-Maynard and Astor Jones in their outfits depicting nut-sellers and the Barbados Defence Force soldiers.
Nursery School hosts Bajan Character Day Parade
Sat, 11/26/2016 - 12:00am
By:
Marsha Gittens
Barbadian folk characters such as King Dyall and Mother Sally could be spotted walking along the stretch from St. Stephen’s Nursery to Carlton and A 1 Supermarket yesterday morning.
These and other Bajan characters were depicted by students and teachers of the Nursery School, who took part in a ‘Bajan Character Day Parade’. It was one of the activities staged by the educational institution in celebration of Barbados’ 50th anniversary of Independence.
Once at the Black Rock Supermarket, students showed off their costumes in the area of the main entrance, much to delight of staff, customers and onlookers.
This was followed by a dance by some of the students in a section of the Supermarket’s carpark.
Teacher, Olivia Jackman told The Barbados Advocate that costumes worn by the infants, ages three to five, were made by their parents who received some input from their young charges.
She further said that not only were Bajan characters such as the Nut Seller and the Mauby Woman depicted, but so too were shaggy bears, green monkeys and the tuk band. Leaders such as Dame Nita Barrow, entertainers like Rihanna and Red Plastic Bag and Barbados’ lone living National Hero, Sir Garfield Sobers were also among the individuals students opted to be. They also dressed like community workers such as chefs, doctors and members of the Royal Barbados Police Force and the Barbados Defence Force.
Jackman said that leading up to the day and throughout the entire month, students were taught about the various characters and professions depicted. This gave them a better understanding of the role each character, leader or community worker played in the development of Barbados.