BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SANDY POINT have once again proven that it is the hub for Track and Field talent in the Federation as the Primary School in that town successfully retained their Ram’s Primary School Championships, which was held over the weekend at the Silver Jubilee Stadium.

At the end of the first day of the Championships, Sandy Point Primary School were in the driver’s seat with five gold medal, earning a two-gold medal lead over a surprised Estridge Primary School.

(EMU) – St Kitts: The Estridge Primary School celebrated its fourteenth year in a grand way on Friday January 20th with its classroom competition which was organized with a view to raising school pride.   Principal of the primary school Keesha Dolphin also took the opportunity to honour Bernice Ham who retired from being the school cook after being with the school since its inception.   Mrs. Dolphin said prior to her tenure which started in 2012, the school was relocated to its present location in 2000 under the headship of Mrs. Karen Williams, followed in 2001-2012 by Mrs.

Carnival on St. Kitts brings the islanders together to commemorate the mixture of the many customs and traditions that have shaped the island's heritage and background over many centuries. St. Kitts' Carnival begins on the evening of Dec. 19 at the opening gala of the Grand Market. During this spectacular event, many festivities are held, including competitions, pageants, and parades. Among the most anticipated events are the Soca and Senior Monarch Competitions, the National Carnival Queen Pageant, the Junior Calypso Show, and the famous Miss Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant.

Clowns, Moko-Jumbies, and masquerades make up a large part of St. Kitts' folk culture, providing entertainment and an insight into a past documented by hundreds of years of celebrations. Clown troupes perform during Christmas time and consist of approximately 50 players providing fun and entertainment for spectators while donning loose colorful clown suits decorated with bells that jingle while the clowns perform swinging dances. A pink wire mesh mask to hide the face of the performer is also part of the costume. This affectation is meant to depict Europeans.

For hundreds of years our Clowns have been a big part of our Christmas time festival. This troupe of up to fifty players wear floppy, colorful costumes decorated with tiny bells that fill the air with a delightful jingle. The punctuating crack of the Hunter, a leather whip carried by each performer, serves to keep them in sync with the rhythms of their accompanying String Band. In the same tradition of all local folk dances, our clowns wear pink wire mesh masks to hide their identity and allow for total lack of inhibition.

In the seventeenth century, the French Governor De Poincy took residence in the parish of St. Peters, and started a tradition that has far outlived the palace that he built there. Today "The Actors" of St. Peters still perform skillful, hair-raising acrobatic feats. They do somersaults over the prongs of upturned pitchforks, and use sledgehammers to break great stones set upon each other's chests – all to the delight of young and old.

Don't worry. That's just a Kittitian dressed in red with a bull headdress coming down the street. And when he goes into a wild frenzy causing chaos and havoc, he's only retelling the story of an incident that happened at the Belmont estate back to 1917. As it is told, the prize bull of that property's manager fell ill, only to miraculously revive. It is this revival that is acted out in graphic detail causing humor and havoc as the bull runs wild among spectators.

Once a year African mythology brilliantly comes to life and walks among us on St. Kitts. Dressed in long colorful gowns, Moko-Jumbies dance on six to eight foot stilts to the delight of everyone along the parade route. Although we may never know for certain, many theories surround their costumes and the dance they perform. One theory is that Moko is the name of the African God of Vengeance.

In St. Kitts, Masquerade is an art form. Uniquely Kittitian, it is our Carnival's  grand display of the cultural evolution that has taken place over the course of 300 years. Paraders wear tall peacock-feathered headdresses, masks, and fringed aprons that reach just above the knees. The entire costume is decorated with bangles, mirrors and ribbons.

One of the most cherished traditions in our treasure chest of cultural riches is our carnival at Christmas time, when our Clowns, Moko-Jumbies, Masquerade, Bull, and Actors parade in a joyous display of island pride.