LAST Sunday’s festive proceedings truly announced that East Coast Demerara promoter Ean ‘Father Moey’ Havercone had pulled out all the stops this year in staging one of the biggest and most successful Buxton/Foulis Mash Parades and Live Shows ever to be staged on the local shores. The overwhelming participation in the streets, with a huge crowd revelling in complete abandon, was a clear sign that this event was well organised. It certainly attracted revellers from every East Coast village, who came out in their numbers to wind down their Mash festivities in grand style.

The Road Parade, which began at the Melanie Damishana Market Square, saw revellers atop trucks with music sets screaming in mirthful bliss as they humped, bumped and gyrated their way to Buxton Village for the final showdown. Proceeding slowly along the East Coast Railway Embankment Road, the action attracted crowds like honey attracts ants; and the crowd increased rapidly as large groups from each village joined the procession with colourful costumes of their choice.

On arriving in Buxton, the large crowd became one huge, whirling melee of convulsing bodies as they threw care to the wind and engaged in a face-off that saw both men and women — and even children — somersaulting, shaking their rear ends, dancing on their heads, and doing the alarmingly risky ‘dancehall splits’ as they battled for the Mash Showgirl or Showboy titles.

Then the crowd streamed into the Buxton Community Centre Ground to be entertained by the popular ‘Super Ray One Man Band’ and performances by the X-Factor Dance Group.

The night’s programme was further accentuated as thousands gyrated to the popular hits and performance of Guyana’s X-2 Entertainers, Adrian Dutchin and Jomo Primo. The climax of this segment actually came in the wee hours of the morning when international artistes Kiprich and Lil Rick took to the stage, belting out some of their more pulsating soca and dancehall selections. Females in the audience revelled in wild abandon, and were truly having an exciting time, judging from the blissful look on their faces.