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Ciara coming to play with Spirit Mas

Global superstar and co-owner of Ten To One rum brand, Ciara, will be in Trinidad to play mas with Spirit Mas band. A media release said Ciara will be jumping on the road with the band on Carnival Tuesday, March 4. The R&B singer-songwriter, dancer and actress who is married to NFL star Russell Wilson, joined as an investor with Trinidadian Marc-Kwesi Farrell for the Ten To One rum brand. Ciara's talents have earned her several awards, including a Grammy, three MTV Video Music Awards and she has co-written songs for other top stars. Spirit Mas, will portray Spirit Island on the road for Carnival 2025. Only in its second year, the band continues to pioneer innovative methods and approaches to ensure its masqueraders revel in uninhibited joy, convenience and make unforgettable memories. Spirit Mas has partnered with the Carnival Entrepreneurs Association to provide its masqueraders with exclusive access to nine vendors’ booths around the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain, to ensure masqueraders stay refreshed and hydrated before crossing the Savannah stage on Carnival Tuesday. Identifiable by their Spirit and Scotiabank branding, these vendor booths will provide masqueraders with free drinks and refreshments during their wait to cross the stage. [caption id="attachment_1141040" align="alignnone" width="783"] Pure joy on the road from this Spirit masquerader. - Photo courtesy Tegwen Kimber[/caption] At that point of the route, drinks trucks are not allowed to enter the Savannah, so the partnership benefits both the vendors and Spirit masqueraders. Additionally, Spirit Mas has automised three of its carts by adding a tractor to each for ease of transport. These specially-designed carts “are going to innovate Carnival in a different way,” said Spirit CEO Adrian Scoon. Scoon anticipates 2025 Carnival to be “the greatest of all time.” Spirit Mas stormed on to the stage in 2024, for the first time, and almost immediately became one of the most sought-after bands to revel in on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Sold out in its debut year, and also in 2025, Spirit Mas received rave reviews from its local and foreign masqueraders after its first showing and is promising to deliver another unmatched experience once again. Spirit Mas will present nine sections reflecting Trinidad and Tobago’s historic allure and attractions under the theme, Spirit Island. The line of costumes is heavily made up of the combined efforts of local creatives, who mesh art into designing the pieces. The sections are titled Botanica designed by Sandra Hordatt, Argyle by Rhion Romany, Treya by Hordatt and Nakita Hyatali, Bréa by Hyatali, Fortress by Romany, Gasparee by Kriston Milano, Ibis by Trishelle Leacock, Dimanche by Douglas John and Battalion by Levi Marcus. The sections highlight the Botanical Gardens (Botanica), Argyle waterfall (Argyle), La Brea Pitch Lake (Bréa), Fort George (Fortress and Battalion), Gasparee Caves (Gasparee), the Caroni Swamp (Ibis), the Queen’s Park Savannah (Dimanche) and a tribute to the culture and colours of our forefathers (Treya). When asked what inspired Scoon and a host of other creatives to launch a mas band in such a competitive and ever-evolving industry, he said there was no better time. “We’re doing this because, at that point in time, we felt a lot of the other islands and countries were becoming a little more competitive, especially with things like the hotel inventory they had, the proximity to beaches and these types of things, so we felt that was our purpose. “We kind of put our own spin on the product. We did not want to offer something that was previously done and the masqueraders really came out and appreciated that. We wanted to overcompensate on value, and those are the areas they embraced as well.” Scoon said the band’s vision remains to continue pushing TT towards becoming the number-one Carnival destination in the world. Spirit Mas is guided by a community of people from across the globe, who stem from TT and the wider region, who want to heavily contribute to mas in a meaningful way, Scoon said. “For us, it doesn’t matter where you’re from, race, age, shape, we have people from all different walks of life as a part of Spirit, and I think that’s the beautiful part.” He confirmed the 2025 experience on the road features more creative infrastructure, additional personal customer service and more art in the band. Tapping into the arts community Scoon said was integral and made Spirit Mas stand out. [caption id="attachment_1141039" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Spirit Mas masqueraders revel on the Queen's Park Savannah stage during 2024 Carnival celebrations. - Photo courtesy Tegwen Kimber[/caption] “We had to build a bridge between Carnival and the art community. We felt like the art community was left out of mas in a significant way. “Now that we’ve built that bridge, we see a lot of creativity coming into the experience, and we make it about the experience. The costume is a major part, but the experience is a big part of Spirit. What we’re really trying to do every year is tell a story through costuming and art.” On its success so far, Scoon admitted the team was initially surprised by the masquerader response and positive feedback after 2024. Looking ahead, he believes Spirit has a purpose to bring Carnival to the world, through its mas and masquerader experience. On January 5, Spirit provided children an opportunity to learn about several core components of Carnival at the band’s inaugural children’s Carnival workshop at Queen’s Hall, St Ann’s. Youngsters were introduced to, and received hands-on sessions in stilt-walking, songwriting, deejaying, make-up artistry, pan sessions, tiara designing, music theory and cultural dancing among other essential aspects of Carnival. Scoon described it as a day to interact and engage the younger generation and teach them about different aspects of the culture, to help promote, develop, tap into, and even unearth our limitless creativity as Caribbean people and open their eyes to viable Carnival-related career choices. “We feel chosen, and we have a purpose. It really helps the company galvanise itself, because there’s one common purpose. And everybody that works for this beautiful institution they feel that and wants to be a part of it. So it’s very easy for us to put in the work, it doesn’t feel like work for us, because of how people receive us it’s been fantastic. “We’re very grateful for our masqueraders. We have one big family from the wirebender to the masquerader to the truck driver, everybody belongs to Spirit. “They feel that love and energy and that’s why we’ve been able to grow so quickly. This is going to be one of the greatest Carnivals of all time.” Scoon thanked every person who believed in the Spirit Mas project from day one, and those who were able to see the vision and work towards it, before it became a reality. Spirit’s fete, Home, will take place on Carnival Thursday (February 27) at Queen’s Park West.   The post Ciara coming to play with Spirit Mas appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.