BY IAN MCBRIDE
Two large carnival-style costumes were modelled at this year’s LINK Picnic Festival Costume Show at the City of Kitchener Rotunda.
The festival was held Sept. 26 and introduced residents to carnival costume art. During the day costumes were on display and in the evening you could try them on and learn how they were made.
Thirteen-year-old Brianna Wilson and 15-year-old George Okot, both of Kitchener, showed off the carnival-style costumes.
A dozen people came out to watch the Costume Show. At the beginning of the event, event manager Sylma Fletcher explained the theme of this year’s show, which was Our Rivers. The theme was chosen to show the diversity of the Grand River.
Wilson modelled a queen costume as Caribbean music played. Her costume was bright yellow with accents in other colours such as pink and green. Wilson, who was participating for the first time, talked about how she decided to wear her own body suit to complement the elaborate carnival costume. “I dance competitively, so when I heard about the competition I decided to wear the outfit I wear for dancing,” she said.
After Wilson finished, Okot modelled his king costume. It was a vibrant blue that included different shades of blue and white. This was his second time participating. “The costume designers basically just made it for me,” Okot said.
This was Fletcher’s ninth year as the event manager for the LINK Picnic Festival. She said the event is getting more popular each year.
“More and more people are coming every year. People like the variety of music,” she said.
There is more room for growth though. Fletcher said, “We still need to get the word out more.”
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