Traditional Carnival

I always used to say that I hate carnival, but I am slowly realizing that it is just the modern day carnival that I dislike. The old traditional things that I grew up on, all still stir up feelings of nostalgia. Extempo competitions, old calypso, the King's and Queen's competition, and of course the traditional carnival characters. Tonight I visited the traditional competition at Victoria Square, I arrived very early, as I usually do for most events, and it was like a ghost town. I thought that no one even has any interest in these old traditions anymore. Even when the event started, the first masquerader crossed the stage to a handful of spectators. It actually had me a bit upset that these people are out here trying to keep these traditions alive, and no one even pays it any mind. Thankfully, as time passed, more and more people started to show up, and I felt as though there was still some hope, what made me even happier was seeing parents bring their children and taking pictures with the masqueraders. I was at the end of the stage, so as they crossed the judging station, a crowd was there waiting to take photos and meet them. There were quite a mix of characters, Baby Dolls, Burrokeets, Dame Lorraines, Fancy Indians, Midnight Robbers, Minstrels, Pierrot Grenade and Sailor Mas. At least those were the ones that I got to see, but I left before the end, and I could see quite a few more lined up still to cross. Everyone was in a good mood, laughing and chatting, and people walked with their folding chairs to sit in comfort. Even though it started off rather slowly, it ended up being quite an enjoyable and entertaining night,