Parents you don’t need to worry any more! There has been a long tradition of mas camps catering to the carnival needs of adults from all over for New York City’s Labor Day parade. Often when you attend the various band launches you get a taste of the “slackness†that is going to take place “down di roadâ€. Although this wild behavior of drinking and gyrating provides a guaranteed evening of pure fun, it is certainly not ideal for children of young ages. There is one mas camp that is set out to change that, and establish an environment that is enjoyable enough for adults yet appropriate for the children.
Funtastic II which was established in 2004, is a mas camp headed by Monica Perez. Ms. Perez, who originally designed and organized children’s events in Trinidad, saw a need for a mas camp geared toward children. The idea behind her mas camp is just that “FUNTASTIC†where children can experience the “Fun†of carnival without the adult content. She certainly hit the floor running with this idea, with this only being her fourth year; Ms. Perez already has one Band of the Year title under her belt. With their 2006 theme of Color Explosion, Funtastic II walked away with the title, and with this year’s theme they might reclaim that title.
2006 theme of Color Explosion, Funtastic II
The Theme this year, On the Way to Egypt will send all the children on a fantasy journey. There are five sections that highlight different things that the children might encounter if they were to take a real life journey to Egypt. With sections tittled Temple Dancer, Secret Oasis and Sunset Gyptian the children are certainly on their way to Egypt. To continue on with tradition there were certainly two costumes that stole the show, Mystical Protector and Egyptian Goddess. Mystical Protector being the only section that included a boy costume immediately grabbed all the boys’ attention. This costume had a sword that the boys could not keep their eyes or hands off of. Then we have Egyptian Goddess which was an all white costume with a beautiful head piece which contained the most beautiful craft work where it showed how much attention was paid to detail.
New Costumes for 2008 “On De Way to Egypt”
Over the past four years Monica Perez has continued working on her goal without any sponsors. She made it very clear that all the hard work, time, and money are sacrificed for the children. Every year she is helped by her daughters Stacey Cedeno and Tracy Perez to make it a successful carnival year. As I stood around and watched the amounts of food, drinks, chips, and toys that were given out during the band launch and abundance of kids dancing and playing games, I suddenly became so humbled. Monica Perez, in her own way is restoring the idea of “family†fun and celebration in carnival.
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-Written By V. Farnum
