By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

THE VALLEY Boys stampeded to victory as the unofficial winner of the 2019 Boxing Day parade, wowing judges and spectators alike with its exotic African theme: “Wildlife on the Great Serengeti”.

According to the unofficial results read by parade management team chairman, Anthen Mortimer, the Valley Boys won by a total of 81.44 points. The Saxons Superstars, with its theme “Join In The Fight Against Cancer”, finished at a close second with 80.01 points.

Genesis, with its theme “The Wedding: A Road To Forever”, finished third with 77.66 points. Last year’s winner, One Family fell to fourth place with 68.19 points. The group’s theme was “Video Games Madness…Get Your Game On”.

Roots came in fifth place with 64.31 points. Its theme was “Dream Vacations: A World Of Beauty”.

In the B-Group category, Colours Entertainment was declared the unofficial winner with a total of 80.86 points. The Original Congos came in second with 65.21 points. In third place was the Redland Soldiers with 57.92 points, followed by Body of Christ with 56.30 points.

The Fancy Dancers came in fifth with 55.97 points; Conquerors for Christ came in sixth with 48.74 points, while The New Vikings came in seventh with 34.77 points.

The Valley Boys won three major categories en route to its victory on Thursday, namely best off-the-shoulder; best banner; and best music.

One Family won best free-dance, best choreograph and best overall performance. The Saxons won the best step-down and best lead costume categories.

The Valley Boys’ victory came during a parade that was repeatedly threatened by wind and rain. The festivities were originally due to start at 10pm on Christmas Day, but was later delayed to midnight due to the inclement weather.

At one point during the parade, spectators were forced to flee the stands and scramble under whatever shelter they could find to escape a downpour of rain that persisted for upwards of 10 minutes.

Junkanoo Corporation New Providence (JCNP) chairman Dion Miller told reporters at the time that “several things” were going through his mind as the showers kept falling, especially given that at least one more squall was expected.

Fortunately, however, that never happened, and the night continued as planned. There were some notable breaks between groups, but none too egregious, at least according to Mr Mortimer, who told The Tribune that notwithstanding the delay, all of the groups were moving “pretty good”.

Former parliamentarians participated in Thursday’s activities, such as former Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Minister of Sports Dr Danny Johnson, who rushed with the Saxons. Meanwhile, former St Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman rushed with One Family.

Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest, who was seated in Rawson Square and had to flee for shelter like many others when the strongest shower of the night came down, said that didn’t spoil his evening. He said the parade appeared to be “well-managed”, and although the “gaps” in between groups were noticeable, he suspected that had “a lot to do with the weather”.

Mr Turnquest, who has gone on record as saying he supports the Valley Boys “all the way”, was initially critical of that group’s performance, stating: “The performance, the Valley first out, eh I think (it was) a little bit lacking on the performance side and music side, but hopefully it’ll pick it up on the second lap.”

Meanwhile, he said the Original Congos played “beautiful music” and was “very impressive”.

In terms of security and policing, Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson told reporters that police reported no major matters during the parade, or through wider New Providence.

However, The Tribune observed several men, at various points during the parade, being escorted by police through the crowd on their way to the nearby Central Police Station.

One of those men, dressed in a white t-shirt and white jeans, was covered in blood, with blood staining his shirt and pants. He held his head as he was being escorted by officers, suggesting that he had suffered a head injury.

“We’re always happy when we do not have any incidents,” the commissioner said. “People are comfortable and can enjoy themselves when they come out to these cultural events. And that is why the police are here, to ensure there is peace and tranquility during this cultural event.”

The police chief said he expects the same level of effort from his officers in the upcoming New Year’s Day Junkanoo parade, which is just five days away.

“It’s going to be the same thing,” he said. “We’re going to be out in full force and police these events. It is mandated that we police these events, and it’ll be no letting up on it. And while we’re policing the event, we will also police the communities in the inner cities.”