Pirates Ahoy! was the theme for the T-Shirt Carnival Expressions band entry into the Caripeg Carnival of 1989. A successful Carnival theme is labour intensive. The production of the King and Queen costumes and the 100 plus individual costumes involves a core group of 15 – 20 volunteers. These volunteers blend skills in design, construction, welding, wire bending, sewing, organization and style to arrive at the wonderful costumes that are the focus of Carnival. The photographs are presented chronologically; starting with a costume preview and social on May 6 1989 and ending with the King’s costume being loaded on a trailer at the end of the Caripeg Carnival Street Parade, August 12 1989. They are presented here with many thanks to T-Shirt, Ranee and all the Pirates for their time, patience and joy.
In early 1989, Steve Prystupa, Curator of Multicultural Studies at the Manitoba Museum, told me he had started to plan an exhibit centered on Caripeg, Winnipeg’s Celebration of Carnival. He asked if I would be interested in doing some photography. I agreed and through Steve’s efforts, we were introduced to the community at a workshop on April 9 1989. And again at a social and costume preview on May 6 1989, where it was indicated that I wished to photograph the preparations leading to Carnival. Colleen McRae, of the Pirates Ahoy! band, invited me to their camp which would start production in July. The Pirates Ahoy! camp was under the direction of and at the home of Alvin Alleyne (T-Shirt) and Ranee Maharaj. I contacted other groups and photographed their preparations as well, but it is the Pirates Ahoy! band that Mas Camp 89′ centers on.
Mas Camp 89′ was a part of a larger exhibit titled Time and the River of Rhythm at the Manitoba Museum. The main component of Time and the River of Rhythm featured the King, Queen and individual competitor costumes collected during Caripeg 1992. Another facet, was the 1989 documentation of the wider community; bands such as Glimpse of Greece, Islands in the Sun, Fantasy of Flags and Aladdin’s Dream, and the smaller individual costumes that were able to be collected at that time.
These photographs from the 1989 celebrations are now in the National Archives of Canada and can be accessed online.
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4 Responses
Fabulous pictures…
thanks Rob
Jeff
Thank you Jeff
You are certainly gifted with trigering the shutter release at the precise moment. Keep me on your mailing list.
Denis Duguay.
What a great documentary! I never attended the event, and your pics are perfect compensation. Love the “back room” shots, scenes I would never have seen! Thanks, Rob!