A proper Carnival Hall of Fame!

20.MAY.11

Yet another of our veteran Carnival mas-makers has departed to the Great Beyond. May his soul rest in peace!

Raymond ‘Sevens’ Knights, incidentally one of three Raymond Knights who graced the Carnival scene, was buried yesterday (Thursday, May 19), having died the previous week.{{more}} He is best known for his involvement with the “Boys from the Hill”,( Kingstown Hill) and his association with the likes of the late ‘Moby Dick’, Paddy Corea, another departed veteran ‘Kentish’ Cunningham, Sibert ‘Dove’ Liverpool and the late Hermione Cambridge. Faithfully, for more than two decades, the ‘Hill Boys’, produced some of the best mas portrayals to cross the stage at Victoria Park. But with the band not the leader in the popularity contest, and being smaller than the more popular presentations, the quality of the mas from the Hill did not seem to find too much favour with the judges.

‘Sevens’ himself, an indefatigable and perennial contestant in the King of the Bands competition, could justly feel at times hard done by some decisions. But to his credit and that of the players from the Hill, this never deterred them nor undermined their love for the Festival. Even after his playing days were over, ‘Sevens’ Knights continued to make valuable contributions to Carnival, by way of advice, in judging and in contributions to the Carnival Development Committee (CDC).

The passing of Raymond ‘Sevens’ Knights is a sad loss to the Carnival and cultural community of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He joins a growing list of Carnival and cultural icons who have etched indelible marks on our cultural scene. Preceding ‘Sevens’ by a couple months was another Carnival hero, Edison ‘Sheggy’ John, and before him Roy ‘Dragon’ Ralph, for whom ‘Sevens’ must have been an inspiration. We have also lost the inimitable ‘The Professor’ Padmore, the unique talents of ‘Tanny Peters and Dan Simon, to name a few.

One would expect the CDC as part of this year’s celebrations to honour the memory and contributions of Messrs Knights and John, veritable knights of the Carnival arena. Perhaps one of the nights can be so designated. In addition, to ensure continuity and raise awareness of the young generation, it would be good if a word or two, in tribute, can be said on the occasion of Junior Carnival. Our young people need to know the history of Carnival and the role that people like ‘Sevens’ and ‘Sheggy’ have played to develop the Festival.

Above all, there is a much larger issue. It won’t be enough to recall the contributions for this year or this Carnival season only. What about helping to place our Carnival and the unforgettable contributions of such veterans on the pedestal that they deserve to be? We can think of a real Carnival Hall of Fame, situated within a Carnival Museum. Not only would this give proper recognition to the life work of these cultural giants, it would also serve as a guide for posterity, a practical documentation of what ‘Becket’ calls our “Carnival History”, and also as an important tourism promotion tool.

‘Sevens’ , ‘Sheggy’ and ‘Dragon’ in a Carnival Hall of fame? They justly deserve it.