THE DYING SWAN

THE DYING SWAN

 

 

The dying swan turned round and around.

Tiptoeing on the hard and concreted ground.

Stunningly beautiful and graceful in its steps.

At Stollmeyer's Castle, we gasped for breath.

*

Its astounding performance, we watched in awe.

Such a wondrous act we had never seen before.

The part was played by one of Minshall’s men,

In the Land of the Humming Bird, a Carnival band.

*

Walking on stilts, he climbed the high stage,

To receive his prize, and the crowd was amazed.

The presenter of the prize stood on the highest elevation.

To present to the Dying Swan his well-earned token.

Copyright@Brenda Mohammed

 

LAND OF THE HUMMING BIRD

On 26th February 2024, the formal opening of an exhibition to commemorate the 50th anniversary to celebrate Peter Minshall’s revelatory 1974 Carnival presentation, “From the Land of the Humming Bird,” was held.

The exhibition was co-curated by Kathryn Chan and Austin Fido, in association with the Minshall Mas Foundation, the Frank and Myrtle Cleghorn Foundation, which provided seed financing, and the partnership of Castle Killarney (Stollmeyer’s Castle).

Frank and Myrtle Cleghorn are the deceased parents of Trinidad-born Dr. Farley Cleghorn, an infectious disease specialist living in Washington, and who has been involved in great humanitarian work.

Dr. Cleghorn gave an eloquent and touching speech about why he and his family supported the exhibition financially.

Hundreds were in attendance.

Admission was free, and sumptuous refreshments were served.

The organizers deserving of mention for their kind support of the project were the National Carnival Commission, the Carnival Institute, the National Archives, Francis Lau Construction Company Ltd, Jimmy Aboud and Company Ltd, The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago, Angostura Ltd, and Business Supply Group Ltd.

An article appeared in the Trinidad Newsday on the 3rd. March 2024.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE