— says Director of Culture; results to be announced this week

MASHRAMANI 2018 has exceeded the expectations of its organisers and Guyanese, Director of Culture (ag), Tamika Boatswain has said.
“I believe Mashramani was a huge success… it exceeded our expectations, especially with the talk about the change in route,” Boatswain said during a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday.

Floats made their way from Thomas Lands and Camp Street, then turned onto Vlissingen Road and straight to D’Urban Park during the parade. There were thousands of people at every section of the route, including the park.

The organisers believed that the crowd was blown away by the floats, especially since most of the spectators said it was the best Mashramani in years.
“We were pleased with the outcome and the cleaning up after… the turnout at D’Urban Park also exceeded our expectations, because everything was good and there were positive vibes,” said the elated Boatswain.

Although one aspect of the celebrations was successfully completed, the judges are yet to announce the winner of the Mashramani float parade competition.
According to the director, 27 floats were a part of the parade, but not all competed in the judging aspect.

She explained that the preliminary reports are yet to be audited, but it is expected to be completed this week and the results will be released shortly.
The festival, Mashramani, which has as its main attraction the February 23 costume and float parade in the capital, is preceded by several activities in the various regions.

Mashramani is also known as a celebration after hard work and Guyanese did not fail to make use of the opportunity to celebrate by dancing, singing, or even having a simple picnic with their families as they watched the floats make their way to D’Urban Park.
It was all fun and games for the onlookers, but it was a bit more serious for the revellers, since the parade was also a competition. Judges were strategically placed at points along the parade route in order to get a clear view of every aspect of the floats.