In its annual quest, D’Midas International New York mas band hopes to place in the top three for medium-sized bands in the West Indian American Day Carnival Parade.
Band members say this year will be no exception, as the band hits Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway with “Glitz and Glamour.”
“We hope to perform the best of our ability,” said Cheryl Johnson, the band’s Trinidadian-born treasurer in a Caribbean Life interview. “Over the years, we’ve performed successfully and continue to do so.
“Masquerades can expect a good time and let the stress off their shoulders,” she added. “Preparations are going well, and we’ve added a youth team to our group and we’re hoping it makes a big impact this year.”
Johnson said “Glitz and Glamour” comprises 13 sections, with at least 175 masqueraders.
The band’s leader, president and co-founder, Glenn A. Fahie Turnbull, said D’Midas International New York “always put our best foot forward, so we always have high expectations and hope to place in the top three in our category.”
Turnbull, who has been participating in carnival in the Big Apple for over 25 years and who is also vice president of the New York Band Leaders Association, said D’Midas International New York, over the years, has placed consistently in the top categories in the carnival, including the top position of King and Queen of the Bands.
Johnson said the band was formed over 30 years ago in Trinidad and Tobago by “the late Stephen Derek and company.”
She said masqueraders will sway to the beats of DJ Young Sound, Kamazee and Dj Xlence.
Besides Turnbull and Johnson, the band comprises Horace Johnson (vice president) and Charolette Phillips (secretary). Aaniya Johnson, Cheryl Johnson’s daughter, serves as president of the youth group, with Tzhasia Johnson as vice president and Alion Parris as secretary.
The mas camp is located at 1619 Nostrand Ave., between Tilden Avenue and Beverly Road, in Brooklyn.
Turnbull can be reached at (718)-809-1017 or (718) 462-6137; and Cheryl Johnson at (718) 462-6137, or on Instagram at dmidasintl_ny.
