By RHONDOR DOWLAT Monday, April 20 2009

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A cross-section of the massive Pilgrimage crowd....

THEY CAME in their thousands in the national colours of red, white and black to celebrate the resurrection and life of the Lord Jesus Christ, and they did just that.

To the strains of the highly infectious and enormously popular “He’s Alive”, which was the virtual theme song of the event, the sea of believers at MOBS2 Chaguaramas beautified the air with oceans of briskly waving balloons, rags and upraised hands on Glorious Saturday evening.

To add to the glorious “He’s Alive” spectacle, teenaged gospel sensation Winsie-Ann Cuffie, flooded the stage with confetti, low-lying fog, pyrotechnics and other special effects, along with high-energy dancers, in what was easily one of the most impacting presentations of the evening — coming at the peak moment of 8.15 pm.

If there was any doubt about their belief that their Lord was alive, these ardent worshippers removed all, as they demonstrated energy, zeal and vigour from as early as 10.30 am, when the children’s show got on the way. The pre-teens exuded confidence in a way which enhanced their brilliance and signalled that the future of gospel music was in good hands.

The adults’ programme promptly followed with some well-known artistes in a constant, tight flow. At about 3 pm it was clear that the evening was headed for a large turn-out by the rapidly swelling crowd. By 5:30 pm this was even more evident.

The appreciative audience had by this time been treated to renditions of various moods from performers such as The Burton Sisters, Pierre Sisters, Guitar Dan, Rev Angela Williams and J. Prince, who pumped some added spice into his lively offering. With the absence of some of the foreign acts, locals were added to the cast.

The group Melchezedech Order also made an impressive showing after several years of absence from the stage. Pastor Vernon Duncan, like his counterpart Rev Angela Williams, served a mixture of traditional and contemporary items. He climaxed with the ever popular “All I Want To Do Is Praise Him”. Barbara Flemming flew in from abroad to remind the local crowd that she was still one of the masters in the business — and they certainly agreed! By 7:45 pm Mr Mention had taken the stage. It was doubtless that he had put some planning into his presentation, which included impressive props and dancers. His songs were well chosen and the final part of his performance benefited from the ocean of long red and white balloons, which literally flooded the huge audience, in preparation for the spectacular “He’s Alive” piece.