Berkeley Carnival Revolution stands at the intersection of education, creativity and activism, serving as a platform for creatives and activists of minority groups. We are committed to using natural and upcycled materials, embodying an environmentally and budget-conscious approach.

Beyond the parade route, our mission extends to empowering others to create mas from sustainable materials. We believe in passing down the art of mas making to the new generation, ensuring that traditional skills are preserved and celebrated.

In our effort to bring Protest Mas to a new generation, we recognise its often overlooked and undervalued status despite being the origins from which this rich culture has evolved into a multi-million-dollar industry. Berkeley Carnival Revolution strives to bridge the gap, shedding light on the importance of protest and messaging in the carnival narrative. This authentic expression, often overshadowed, is the heart of our cultural heritage, attracting tourists and locals alike.

Join us on a journey where art, advocacy, and carnival spirit collide, making a powerful statement for a more inclusive, just, environmentally conscious, and culturally rooted world.

Our Story:

The origins of this iteration of Berkeley Mas is rooted in protest. After working alongside Amanda T. Mc Intyre in 2017 to produce the first place band for Bocas Lit Fest’s first Ole Mas competition, the bandleader wanted to explore their own artistic and creative visions and messaging. In 2018 a snap decision was made to enter the competition with just over 24hours to produce the entire portrayal. With a budget of free-99 and a group of excited friends began creating costumes from things found around the house. Surprisingly and in spite of the short preparation time, the band placed fourth championing the cause for human right for all. 2019 rolled around and our group began to grow, inspiring the late literary marvel and activist extrondinare, Colin Robinson to join the band adamantly playing a jammete called “Petrotrin Clothes Down”, the band proudly placed third.

Having had a steady growth and improvement, the bandleader had their eyes and heart set on taking home first place in the 2020 iteration of the Bocas Lit Fest Ole Mas Competition, unfortunately the Pandemic had much different plans.

During this forced break from mas, and after suffering from long covid, the bandleader once again with a budget of free-99 was inspired to make mas. This time, taking the challenge even further and onto the national stage.

In January of 2023 a social media post with a list of items people may be throwing away went viral over night and so began our “hoarding” adventure. Within two days there was no space left to store the donations which included paints, cardboard, wire, gems, beads, glitter, glue, cloth, trimming and so much more! The plan to make three intricate individual costumes quickly expanded to five with a sixth being a cow produced by Amy Li Baksh. Five traditional mas costumes including a bat, an imp, a babydoll, a sailor, and midnight robber all under a strong Covid-19 theme. From there the band only grew.

What’s with the Big Heads?

As a child, despite growing up in and around the mas, traditional characters like the Midnight Robber, Blue Devil, and Jab Molasie terrified the bandleader. Using this as inspiration the idea of large whimsical cartoon like heads first started coming out of our camp with the help of Mr. Kairaba Cabrera in 2018. The aim was to make the characters appeal to younger children hopefully encouraging them to learn about mas, our messaging and the history of our culture. Since then, it has been one of our greatest joys to interact with the future of carnival, having them interact with the costumes and characters is one of the best rewards.

These large, yet light heads are framed with wire (often from discarded clothes hangers) and utilises the papier mache technique to form its features. This technique has proven to be beneficial to our journey as we still have heads fully intact since our start despite severe weathering, many a concerning storage situation and general wear and tear.

We have become proudly known for our big heads, which over time we have made significant strides in improving its ergonomics and manoeuvrability.

Berkeley Carnival Revolution strives to bridge the gap, shedding light on the importance of Traditional Mas making in the carnival narrative.

Join us on a journey where art, advocacy, and carnival spirit collide, making a powerful statement for a more inclusive, just, environmentally conscious, and culturally rooted world.