SAN­DRA L BLOOD

Trinidad and To­ba­go ex­cel­lence will be cel­e­brat­ed in New York City on Sep­tem­ber 12, when 19 ho­n­ourees are recog­nised at The Riv­er Run­way 2026: Icons of In­flu­ence.

The event cel­e­brates re­mark­able peo­ple while their work is still un­fold­ing, recog­nis­ing ex­cel­lence in re­al time and ho­n­our­ing those whose in­flu­ence con­tin­ues to in­spire oth­ers, strength­en com­mu­ni­ties, shape cul­ture and cre­ate a last­ing lega­cy.

Among those to be recog­nised are Car­ol Ad­di­son-Lewis, Dr Stephon Alexan­der, Alvin Clay­ton Fer­nan­des, Clem LueY­at, Austin “Su­perblue” Lyons, Richard Young, Michael Man­swell, Michael Sal­ick­ram, Solange Sandy, Jaleesa Jaikaran, Lar­ry Ram­per­sad, Za­li­na Wälch­li, Neil Iw­er George, DJ Ted­dy Mo­hammed, Joshua Re­grel­lo, Natasha Wil­son, Kim­ber­ly Jones, Mar­sha Mas­si­ah and An­gela Sealey, of WIAD­CA.

Renée Cum­mings, hon­orary chair of the Met Gala-styled event, said, “We be­lieve there are far too few op­por­tu­ni­ties to ho­n­our the bril­liance that ex­ists in the world. That is why we say thank you now. We cel­e­brate these ex­tra­or­di­nary in­di­vid­u­als while they are still cre­at­ing, con­tribut­ing, lead­ing, and in­spir­ing.”

The 19 ho­n­ourees, whose ac­com­plish­ments, en­dur­ing lead­er­ship and life­long con­tri­bu­tions have left an in­deli­ble mark on so­ci­ety, will be recog­nised across five cat­e­gories.

ICONS OF EX­CEL­LENCE 2026

Life­time Achieve­ment

Car­ol Ad­di­son-Lewis, Dr Stephon Alexan­der, Alvin Clay­ton Fer­nan­des, Clem LueY­at, Austin “Su­perblue” Lyons and Richard Young.

Mas­ters of Move­ment: Dance, The­atre & Arts

Michael Man­swell, Michael Sal­ick­ram and Solange Sandy.

The Imag­i­na­tion of Style

Jaleesa Jaikaran, Lar­ry Ram­per­sad and Za­li­na Wälch­li.

Cre­ators of Cul­ture

Neil Iw­er George, DJ Ted­dy Mo­hammed, Joshua Re­grel­lo, and Natasha Wil­son.

The Spir­it of Com­mu­ni­ty

Kim­ber­ly Jones, Mar­sha Mas­si­ah and An­gela Sealey WIAD­CA.