Island Vibes Magazine

A Dazzling Experience: Sesame Flyers Inc…25 years and Counting!

Posted on 09. Sep, 2009 by admin in Arts and Culture, Business

By Esther Lawrence

It’s the time of year again…Carnival in New York City! The West Indian American Day Parade will soon be upon us and what better way to pay homage but to explore one of the parade’s greatest and oldest masquerade organizations, Sesame Flyers International.

The West Indian Day Parade in New York welcomes over 2 million people annually and poised and eager to entertain those 2 million onlookers is Sesame Flyers International, a nonprofit organization that has been in the business for over 25 years.

I sat down with Mr. Winston Munroe and Chief of Staff, Aisha Carr to find out more about this esteemed organization. Mr. Munroe is one of the directors of the organization, the chairperson of the Mas Committee, a founding member of the organization, former chair and former president.

Island Vibes Magazine (IVM): What does Sesame Flyers Inc. do in the community?

Mr. Munroe: Sesame Flyers Inc. is a nonprofit organization based in the East Flatbush Brooklyn. We deal with the culture and educational enhancement of young people and we service the East Flatbush, Canarsie, Crown Heights sections of Brooklyn, NY.

IVM: How did the organization begin?

Mr. Munroe: While growing up, a few friends got together realizing we’d had the best of both worlds, having been involved in the music and the cultural aspects of the country of Trinidad and Tobago. Migrating to the United States, most of us had children here and we thought it was necessary to form this organization and incorporate that culture into their lives so that our kids would inherit some aspect of the Caribbean culture. It started out as a family organization and it really blossomed into something that is worthwhile in the community right now.

IVM: What are the different program areas of the organization?

Aisha Carr: We run two Beacon programs. The first is an After School Program for kids from 1st -12th grades. We provide basic after school activities including homework help, dance, steel pan, and for the older kids we provide them with job development skills that they would need to go into the workforce. Then we have the Summer Youth Employment Program which is sponsored by the City of New York. We locate jobs for young people and the city pays for it, we place them and supervise them. This year we placed over 500 young people in jobs through our program. We continue throughout the year to prepare them for the job force, through peer-mentoring and various workshops.

Mr. Munroe: We also have a Saturday Program, which is one of the original programs that we started out with. We have the Family Support Program which has the Center for Family Support that deals with foster care, counseling, etc. It’s an extension program that covers the entire organization.

IVM: What are the other areas of the organization?

Aisha Carr: In addition to our programs, we also have the carnival band which includes our adult and children masqueraders and our steel band group that represent us on the parkway each year for the West Indian American Day Parade.

IVM: What is the age range of the members? How many members does Sesame Flyers Inc have?

Mr. Munroe: The ages of the members range from 5yrs old to infinite. There’s a tremendous amount of member categories that encompass the organization. The actual number of members in the organization including the board and founders is about 35 members. Staff is about 100 members. Then the membership of the adult carnival band ranges from 1500 to 2500. The children’s’ carnival band ranges from 150 to 500. Our support members and donor members are extensive.

IVM: Is the organization International? If so, where?

Mr. Munroe: We have branches in Trinidad and Tobago and Canada. Although Miami is not international, I feel that our branch down there is worth mentioning and we are also hoping to start a branch in Atlanta.

IVM: What kinds of awards has Sesame Flyers, Inc. won over the years?

Mr. Munroe: We have captured 10 consecutive years as the number one band on the parkway for the West Indian American Day Parade and this year we’re going for the 11th year. The children’s carnival band has captured 5 consecutive years and this year we’re going for the 6th year. Prior to the consecutive year’s awards, we have captured other miscellaneous awards. The steel band group hasn’t captured any panorama awards as yet but it’s definitely in the works for this year.

Aisha Carr: We have received annual awards from the Department of Youth and Community Development which is one of our major funders. They have recognized the work that we’ve done in the community. Mayor Bloomberg has honored us at his garden party, where the children got to demonstrate some of their many talents including limbo dancing and play steel pan music. The Governor’s office has honored us as well as the Seventh Precinct, the community block associations for our dedication and commitment to the community and the young people.

IVM: Tell me a bit about this year’s theme for the West Indian Day Parade.

Mr. Munroe: This year we’re paying tribute to Broadway. We’ve selected various plays on Broadway and put our own spin on them in terms of the costumes.

Aisha Carr: Ultimately, the theme is called Dazzle. As you can see (pointing to her t-shirt), it’s Dazzle 2009. What’s really exciting about it is how Dazzle came about and how all of our programs have jumped on it to incorporate it into our approach and administration. It’s going to be our yearly campaign and the children’s aim is to show how they’re going to dazzle us in 2009 in regards to their activities and their successes through the programs. This is by far our favorite theme. We (the staff) have even gone as far as to create “Dazzle” apparel. We’re just branding this Dazzle theme. It just really represents what Sesame Flyers is about.

IVM: Who are the designers of the costumes? Where are they from?

Mr. Munroe: The premiere designers for the adult costumes are Michael Antoine and Juliet Delabastide known as Legacy and they work straight out of Trinidad and Tobago. We also have seven other local designers such as Stacy McKenna of Conquest Sound, Rango, Mau Brothers, Cheryl, Cyré, Caribbean Passion, Mitch & Elmo and Jason Benn. For the children’s costumes we have our premiere designer Rosalin Gabriel who works straight out of Trinidad and Tobago and two other local designers Stacy McKenna of Conquest Sound and Cheryl.

IVM: Where is the hard labor done to construct and put these costumes together?

Mr. Munroe: All the hard labor is done in Trinidad and Tobago.

IVM: What do costume prices range from for adults and children?

Mr. Munroe: Prices for the adults can range from $200 to $500 per costume. Prices for the children are subsidized so the minimum is $90 per costume.

IVM: How would someone who is interested in signing up for the adult or children’s masquerade bands sign up to play mas?

Mr. Munroe: We can always be contacted by phone at (718) 693-0500 or (718) 693-5583 or via our website which is www.sesameflyerscarnival.org.

IVM: How many trucks will Sesame Flyers, Inc. have on the parkway for the West Indian American Day Parade?

Mr. Munroe: We’re going to have six vehicles on the parkway this year. Two large music trucks, a celebrity bus and three utility vehicles which will have beverages, food and costumes.

IVM: Are there any confirmed celebrities guests

Mr. Munroe: We have some but we’re not at liberty to say just yet.

IVM: Name a few of your past celebrity guests.

Aisha Carr: In the past we’ve had Machel Montano, Alison Hinds, Shurwayne Winchester and Traffic, Rupee, Iwer George, Biggie Irie and AJ from 106th and Park on BET, Dahved Levy has been our radio celebrity for the past few years. This year I think we’re going to have a real big celebrity guest. What we tend to do differently from the other bands is that the celebrity guest is usually a surprise to the masqueraders. It’s not a tactic that we use to sell our costumes. It’s more for the entertainment and sort of like a thank you to our masqueraders for choosing to play Mas with us. So it’s a surprise to them every year.

So there you have it…an exclusive spotlight with the bones behind the business.

Sesame Flyers, Inc. is definitely a force to be reckoned with and they’re on the move for 2009. Be sure to watch out for their “Return of the Rooftop” event at Club Moka in Jamaica, NY on September 5th, 2009 hosted by radio personality Dahved Levy and MC Wassy. Celebrities performing at this event include Machel Montano, Iwer George, K.I., KMC and many more.

Sesame Flayers, Inc. is located at 3510 Church Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203 and they can be contacted at (718) 693-0500 or (718) 693-5583 or www.sesameflyerscarnival.org.

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