CARNIVAL

Name : Alyssa Hosein

Class : 3G

Topic : A Plan Gone Wrong

It was a chaotic morning, but this was not just any morning. That morning was known as Carnival Monday. On this day the annual
“Costume Catwalk” takes place. In this competition people have the opportunity to enter a competition to model in their costumes
and have a chance to win amazing prizes. This year the prize was a weekend get-away to Tobago with all expenses paid. “Amazing
isn’t it!” This year the competitors were the Baby Doll, Dame Lorraine and the Moko Jumbie. Traditionally the competition
commences at 9:00 a.m. and is usually held on the streets of Port of Spain.

First up was the popular character portrayed in the 1930’s also known as Baby Doll. Decked out in a frilled dress and bonnet, she
strutted down the runway with a baby doll in her hand. The doll symbolizes an illegitimate baby. To top it all off, as she made her
way down the runway she accused random men of being the father. Next up was the Dame Lorraine. With her extravagant breast
and buttocks she staggered down the runway dressed as a rich French farmer`s wife. “Did you know that sometimes men would
cross dress as women to become the Dame Loraine?” Interesting, isn’t it! Finally, with a name derived from the god “Moko” the
Moko Jumbie comes straight out of a West African tradition. He is usually dressed in a brightly coloured pair of pants, an
extravagant jacket and an elaborate hat. The main part of his outfit is the stilts measuring 10-12 feet in which he dances around in.

After all of the models made their way off stage, the after party commenced in which everyone including the judges participated.
This party is traditionally held in the form of a parade, which is always followed by the announcing of the winner. When everyone
left for the party the judges left the paper with the winner on a table and followed the music truck down the road. This was their
first mistake. When they left Baby Doll decided to take a peak at the results. When she opened the paper it read “ The winner of
the 2023 Costume Catwalk is the Dame Loraine”. She was in utter shock. She threw her doll on he ground and immediately came
up with a plan to fix this. Her first thought was to hide the paper but then she had the better idea of changing the results. She took a
pen and wrote on another piece of paper “ The winner of the annual costume catwalk is Baby Doll” With an evil smile on her face
she placed the envelope back into place and left like she wasn`t even there. Little did she know the judges had placed an official
stamp at the back of the original paper and that if it were to be changed they would know.
Then came time for the announcement. When the judges opened the envelope they immediately noticed that the
stamp was missing. Acting clueless, Baby Doll shouted “What`s wrong?” With a grin on their faces, the judges said
that nothing was wrong and one of them pulled out a piece of paper from their back pocket. This paper read “ The
winner of the 2023 Costume Catwalk is Dame Loraine!” Everyone cheered as Baby doll stood there confused. “Nice
try Baby Doll, just know that the next time you try to trick us make sure you do it correctly and check for the stamp”
exclaimed one of the judges through the mic. Embarrassed and guilty the Baby Doll walked away as everyone
congratulated the Dame Loraine.

The End