The best 2 day street party ever. Music, food , fun and bad behavior. How was it for you ? We are listening.

I think it is unanimous. No doubt about it: If Kentucky not changing its recipe, then why should Sir Clarence “oungku” Edwards change his? Do not get carried away, because this is not about who will win road march.Welcome to Antigua’s Carnival, a year filled with some nice groove songs. On the road we chipping, in the band we whining, and surely we will do a little jumping.

Are you tuned into you radios daily, listening to one of the best years of good music. I will agree, when it comes to the Antiguan way of carnival, we might be disappointed, but that is why we have flames, whether red hott or burning: they will sing their tunes from the 1980’s to present day and we will be fine. So no need to depend on others for that. Album of the year, I must confess is Tizzy and the EL-A-Kru band. Tian should get mention in this, but I did say album(not just a few nice songs). I am going out on a limb here and claim that Blade is the front runner for the Calypso Monarch.

Sorry, got carried away with the excitement in the air and the competitive nature of Antigua Carnival. Back to our chipping. I have never felt so compelled to go to a Party Monarch early, since the groovy is first half of the night and besides CP, there may be 2 or 3 participants worth the time to go and watch. This year, if you do not go early for the groovy, then you might be missing the better half of the competition (so Lions open early, plenty people leaving ARG by 11:30pm).

Danski, Lion King, Supa Mario, Tian, Samoya, Blade, Byke … wow I am getting goose bumps thinking these could be a few finalists rivalling CP in the groovy. My take on Jumpy? Hmmm… Let me say, I will not bet against Sleepy. You have to beat him to take that title.

So I will be there with my rag, ready for the jump and wave, and for the whine and grind. Hopefully, you will come out in support of your party monarch and we will all have a good time. Either way, stop your crying, and get over it. The judges’ decision are final.

I’m sure the organizers of “WHY FETE 2009″ think it was a great success story- can you imagine the profit they made after so many people went back home wet, and sober?
I know nothing ruins a great story like hearing the other side…. so here goes:

The joke’s on you if you paid a scalper’s price to get into “WHY FETE”. The forecast called for rain- and one friend of mine: red- skinned Rudolph, said “carry an umbrella”… but I thought – noooo, certainly they will have put some sorta contingency plan in place for the weather.
By the end of the night I realised why they say Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear.
(if you don’t get that joke, get off my profile )

From the beginning it was bad- the line was insanely long- as usual.. but the kicker is that in spite of that they did little to move things along when the rain started to fall.
After rushing past the “Metal Detector-ID Requestor-Wristband Applicator-line”, I got inside under a tent and stood in MUD!
The rain had turned the lawn into a mucky mess. Where there was a ROOF- there was MUD, and where it was PAVED, there was no ROOF. So you choose… either your hair garn a gwassa, or your shoes garn a gwassa.
Nobody even had the foresight to consider setting up the tents to make one continuous line of cover from the weather! How can you KNOW its going to rain and not even CHANGE THE FLOORING for the party???
Even if they want to blame it on time constraints, they could, and should have ordered more tents, and at least cover the entire yard.
The service at the bars was painfully slow, and the bars were at the extremeties of the party- so you had to brave the rain to get a damn drink!

I’m all for making the best of a bad situation, but I was not going to pretend that it was fine for me to walk through mud, risk slipping and bussing my ass, or have some drunk boy splash mud on my dress when he decided to dive into the frigging puddle! YES, someone actually did that… haha… at least he made the best of the situation!

The party was not terrible, but it was far from worth the price I paid!

While there are people who were satisfied with the fete, I am not one of them. Mediocrity is fine when you ask for $25.00 a ticket, so I’m not expecting too much from Red Eye… but after they raised the prices, I raised my expectations.
A good fete has 5 components in my book:
1. PATRONS
2. ALCOHOL
3. MUSIC
4. LOCATION
5. VIBES

Now for the positives: “cute, wet, men”!!!
I give it a 1 out of 5. Eye candy saves any party from a horrible review. But what will the organizers have to say about WHY FETE 2009?

Reposted from TOYA’s Facebook Notes

So I had a difficult decision to make this weekend. What fete should I go to? I don’t have that dilemma this weekend. In fact, it is pretty simple – “I am wearing all white” – sounds practical? Finally, Antigua is becoming a fast, booming social atmosphere equipped with nice fetes and good times. For years, I have been waiting on a carnival season with non-stop action. Granted, times may be difficult, but we have to start somewhere and hope the trend continues.

Visiting Trinidad, yes it has a million people, you have 2 fetes per night, all week. If you are in the mood to do something every night, every weekend, it is there. That is what carnival is about. I am not saying we should pattern, but then again, why not? We keep up with the latest fashion trends, the latest technologies, latest models cars and SUV’s, so why not learn, adopt and adapt the Carnival Mecca.

Fetes in Antigua can be kept small, controlled, and very much appetizing to the varying catered crowds. To each his/her own. For me, just have good alcohol, good entertainment and I am good. You cannot have cheap vodka, cognac, scotch and still a bad beer. You cannot have a wicked line up, and the sound system is desired to be at a rubbish dump. There must be a balance. So far, the organizers behind the respective fetes are doing a fair job and I would give a cumulative average of C. Let us see what happens when the carnival season is over.

Tickets are now available for Heelz: the inclusive

Ticket Outlets:

• The MYST Mansion
• Evolution
• Elegant Steps ( Get 5% off your purchase of shoes – see store for details)
• MYST  Team Members
• Call 46-4MYST | 78-4MYST

Ticket Prices : $125 (MYSTICS $100)

Carnival 2009 is fast approaching. Many of the major Mas bands have launched so naturally comparisons are made and opinions are given. A big topic of discussion over the past few years has been traditional mas versus the emergence of party mas, and so far it has emerged again. Injected into that debate is also the issue of copying from Trinidad Mas.

Seems few Mas troupes are interested in the traditional aspect. The ones that do, reap the benefit of getting Band of the Year and deservingly so. Besides the revelry and culture, Carnival is a business and should be treated as such. The intricate details that go into Traditional Mas require money and a healthy amount of it. Trinidad, a much larger society, approaches Carnival as an integral part of their culture and a business, therefore everything is done on a much grander scale. So at time the comparisons are unfair. Nearly all Mas troupes have to source their material from Trinidad due to the fact that materials are unavailable here and TNT is the mecca of Carnival.

Times have changed, since the women’s lib movement fashion for females have become more and more daring and most naturally that would be reflected in how we celebrate mas. Mas, parties and fetes are largely becoming all inclusive events and organizers have to not only satisfy their ‘base’ but attract new revellers. However, Party Mas should not hinder our creativity and we must find new and exciting ways to portray our costumes.
Party Mas will continue to develop but we must find a way to have a place for our Traditional Mas. There is a place for both aspects.

We must remember that We are all Carnival.

A touch of class?

#24 Pavilion Drive as a venue  speaks volumes. Myst Carnival spares no expense when attempting to stand out. This event aims to find a permanent mark in the calendar of pre-carnival fetes and at the same time be remembered as the unparalleled choice for your all-inclusive special night out.

The concept of Heelz alludes to the sexy and sophisticated, it’s a tribute to all women. An evening of live entertainment, assortment of music by premium dj’s , exotic foods, premium refreshments, a spectacular atmosphere and beautiful friends.

Something black, something pink (Fellas, not sure you can pull off the pink but black is safe).