No, we’re not kidding. Bourda market has its own queen; yes, the Bourda market downtown.
The queen is Shavonne Brown, who enjoys wide acclaim, it would appear, at Bourda. She has been described as a role model by her fellow marketers.
When East Coast International Restaurant, situated right next to the market, decided to honour someone and to show that something “good” can come out of the market, it teamed up with a group of businesses to put on quite a show.
But first, they had to find a queen. And Shavonne was the unanimous choice. She has been working in the market for the past 20 years or so. So, she was selected, given a make-over, dressed up and crowned.
But that was not all. The market decided that it had to do something for someone else – Earl Solomon, otherwise known to most as a junkie. Solomon has been a vagrant and on the streets due to his mental illness, but apparently has a voice of gold.
The organisers of the event decided to also clean him up and have him perform “Unchained Melody.” The audience was stunned, and could not hold back tears, said Claude Sinclair, one of the promoters of the event.
It turns out, Solomon, was a past teacher. He graduated from the Cyril Potter College of Education with a trained teacher’s certificate in 1995. He majored in English Language.
However, a mental illness pushed him to the streets. You could imagine then the surprise of the audience to see him clean-shaved and decently dressed, and oh, the voice!
Georgetown Mayour Hamilton Green showed up for the event.
Among those who teamed up to make the event possible were Deslyn Hair and Nail Salon, B. Sukhai and Sons Fruit Stall, East Coast International, Terry’s Grocery Stall, Fransons New Look Boutique, Banks DIH, Star party Rentals and Shelly’s Dressmaking.
By Mondale Smith