Reynaldo Raymo in his prize-winning peacock costume.

Carnival is a pillar of Caribbean and V.I. culture. Many U.S. Virgin Islands residents travel between islands three times a year to catch all of them, thousands march in costume and nearly everyone comes out to at least part of the festivities.

But what about all those U.S. Virgin Islanders living in the mainland who miss the the soca, the parades, the costumes and the winin'? They unite with their Caribbean neighbors and throw their own carnival parade.

On the last Saturday of June, 130 brightly decorated members of the Virgin Islands Carnival Troupe masqueraded down Georgia Avenue in Washington, D.C.'s annual Caribbean Carnival Parade, portraying “An Enchanted Tropical Rainforest."

Tramping to pulsating rhythms by the USVI’s-own D.J. Avalanche, VICT brought its legendary taste of Virgin Islands Carnival to the nation's capitol . Joined by the St. Thomas Majorettes, the troupe performed a winning dance routine to a musical mix of Virgin Islands hits from 2010 VI Carnival.

In its sixth year, V.I. Carnival Troupe – which is largely made up of Virgin Islanders, but open to participants from around the world – took 2nd-place honors for Band of the Year, and also dominated

Kaiya Todman-Nash – wows the D.C. crowd as a beautiful, red Hibiscus.

the King and Queen of the Band competition. Its queen – Racquel Joseph – donned a multi-colored parrot costume; king – Renaldo Raymo – had a stunning peacock costume; and 3rd-place winner for female individual costume – Kaiya Todman-Nash – wowed the crowd as a beautiful, red Hibiscus.

With all sorts of tropical flowers, from bright gold yellow cedars to vibrant, red hibiscus, radiant orange and green lilies, VICT members were flanked by exotic characters in colors representing the Virgin Islands Flag.

The Virgin Islands Carnival Troupe also won first place honors in 2006 and 2007 for the D.C. Carnival Parade. VICT was formed in 2003 by Virgin Islanders Ivah Chesterfield, Jr. and Renaldo Raymo as a subcommittee of the D.C. Metro Virgin Islands Association. The group was sponsored by Sen. Shawn Michael-Malone, Arturo Watlington, A Taste of the Caribbean and Superior Auto Services.