St. Lucia Diary Pt. 4: It's Carnival!

So after an intense morning at J'ouvert, we were ready for the road! As I previously mentioned, it is truly a miracle that we even managed to wake up and arrive on time. Here are our costumes: we were in the Phoenix section in Just 4 Fun, the only item missing are our leg pieces which we hastily put on on the side of the road.

St. Lucia Diary Pt. 3: We going 25/8!

Just 4 Fun Indulgence Breakfast Fete

St. Lucia Diary Pt. 2: Colour Me Red and Sexy in Black

Colour Me Red

I have to admit that I was far from excited to see Machel Montano again, don't get me wrong he's an amazing performer who never disappoints, but I was more excited to see Bunji Garlin at Sexy in Black. Anyway after a LONG day of going in to town, collecting our costume and rushing to get dressed in 30 minutes we arrived at the Beausejour Cricket Ground about midnight, I couldn't tell you who was performing, as we rushed to grab some food and drink  immediately. We caught the tail end of Ricky T's performance before we headed into the crowd to watch Machel, we were front and centre of course! 

Machel's performance was good as usual, the vibe and energy was MAD. He sang all his classic hits, current songs and songs by other artists; the crowd was hyped all the way through. The highlights for me were when he threw a bottle of his rum into the crowd which I almost caught, but instead got in my eye, sitting on the shoulders of a stranger only to be pointed out by Machel, and when he sang The Fog (the song I was waiting all night for) the crowd went crazy literally dancing in the fog; I had no complaints about the night except the red powder that Machel's people threw into the crowd was quite a struggle to remove!

Carnival Prep

I decided to write this guide for anyone who may be new to taking part in Carnival or 'playing mas' as we call it. Prior to this summer, despite attending many soca fetes etc I had never actually gotten round to joining a band, hopefully this will give you an idea of what to expect, especially if you are going abroad!

Haute Caribe: In the Spirit of Carnival

"Carnival is fashion and fashion is carnival...you can't separate the two..."

This video is an oldie but goodie that explores the fashion industry in Trinidad and features several talented designers including as Anya Ayoung Chee. Not only does it highlight the Caribbean as a serious contender in the fashion industry, but it also serves as a reminder that many of the exotic resort collections created by the big European fashion houses draw on the Caribbean for inspiration...