Photo Focus: St. John Celebration Packs Carnival, Emancipation and Fourth of July Into One

The glint of the first convertible carrying Parade Marshal George Lewis peeped around the Mongoose Junction bend around noon, signaling the start of hours filled with everything that the St. John Celebration is well known for: royalty, pans, majorettes, mokos on towering stilts, grassroots troupes and lots — and lots — of mas.

At one point, the heat topped 100 degrees, and though most on the route had lined up since 8 a.m., no one seemed to notice. Hips were swaying in tune with the band trucks, skirts twirled during the performances, and the queens, with their crowns and shimmering dresses, sat straight and elegant as they descended down the road.

“It has just been the best time,” St. John Celebration Queen Tae Zha Maduro said. “All of the events have been amazing, the Village has been jam-packed — my favorite was seeing Rock City perform — and it’s been wonderful just being out with my friends and family. Today, too. The costumes are incredible, the crowd is so enthusiastic and you can just feel the excitement in the air.”

Indeed, the crowd was interactive, with no shortage of spectators coming off the sidewalks to dance or take pictures with the performers. In the background, the music was insistent, alternating between the pounding of the Love City Pan Dragons’ or Pan In Motion’s steel drums — two St. John staples — at the beginning of the route to the sounds of Karnage or Nailah Blackman’s “Come Home” blasting from the speakers of DJ’s accompanying the rest of the performers.