Jamaica Carnival 2013 Schedule

Well Trinidad Carnival is officially over *tears*, so it's all about Jamaica.  The good thing about Carnival in Jamaica is that it takes up right where Trinidad left off and cures some of the Carnival tabanca.  It is useless to compare Carnival in Jamaica to Carnival in Trinidad simply but there is a vibe in the Jamaica Carnival that makes it enjoyable for Trinbagonians who live here.  For Jamaicans, a series of socio- cultural and class conflicts play itself out in the Carnival which cannot be ignored but I'll save that discussion for another day.

But the gap that Carnival here fills is noteable.  What I've noticed over the last few years is the emergence of events that are not hosted by Bacchanal Jamaica.  I've said it too many times- Bacchanal Jamaica needs to move with the times....too much of the same old.  In the costume department, I am very disappointed with the prices and the "holding" of costumes for friends and family. The day when another organization can gain top corporate sponsors and contemporary costumes, will be the last day of Bacchanal Jamaica's dominance of the street parade.

Anyway, back to the major events for the this season which will be updated as the information comes in:

Bacchanal Jamaica Mas Camp Fridays
Venue: Stadium North
Cost: General- JA$1500 (presold) and JA$2000 (at the gate)- with performances
          VIP- JA$3000 (presold) and JA$3500 (at the gate)
          General- JA$1200 (presold) and JA$1500 (at the gate)- No performances
          VIP-JA$2500 (presold) and JA$3000 (at the gate)

Island Mas Soca Village
February 23, March 2
Venue: Village Blues bar
Cost: JA$1200

Soca in the City
February 9 and every Saturday throughout the season
Venue: Pulse Compound, 38A Trafalgar Rd
Cost: No cover

DJ Smoke and Jojo's Carnival Central Lyme Sundays
Every Sunday from March 3 to March 24
Venue: Jojo's Jerk Pit on Waterloo Rd
Cost: JA$500

Bellamy's Leh Go Fridays
Every Friday starting March 8
Venue: Manhattan Bar
Cost: No cover

Soca Vs Dancehall
March 9
Venue: Devon House
Cost: JA$1900 (early bird) and JA$2500

Passion: The Real Soca Experience
March 9
Venue: Village Blues Bar
Cost: JA$800; Ladies are free before midnight

French Lyme
March 13 and every Wednesday during the carnival season
Venue: The White House- 7 Seymour Ave
Cost: JA$500

UWI Mona Carnival
March 16
Venue: Ring road, Mona campus
Cost: Varies according to band

Enamel Cooler Fete and Powdah
March 17
Venue: Mona Hockey Complex
Cost: JA$1000

Sundown Cooler fete
March 23
Venue Hope Gardens
Cost: JA$2000

Appleton Fantastic Friday
March 29
Venue: Ocho Rios
Cost: JA$1500 (women) JA$2000 (men)

Beach Jouvert
March 30
Venue: James Bond Beach
Cost: JA$4500 (presold) JA$5000 (at the gate)

Dusk
April 1
Venue: Shenstone Drive, Beverly Hills
Cost: JA$1500+ bottle (presold only)

I Love Soca
April 3
Venue: Hope Botanical Gardens
Cost: JA$1500 (presold)

Frenchmen Blocko
April 4
Venue: Jacks Hill
Cost:TBA

Pandemonium
April 5
Venue: Golf Academy
Cost: JA$4000

Bacchanal Jamaica Jouvert
April 5
Venue: Stadium North
Cost: JA$1700 (early bird special) JA$2000 (general )

SunRise Breakfast Party
April 6
Venue: Constant Spring Golf Club
Cost: JA$4500

Frenchmen Bazodee
April 6
Venue: Cherry Gardens
Cost TBA

Road March
April 7

Tailwind Frolic Wrap up Fete
April 13
Venue: TBA
Cost: JA$2500 (presold) JA$3000 (at the gate)


I will keep updating the information as quickly as I can, so keep checking.  I will also try to review each event I attend.  What are your top picks for the 2013 season?

I Love Soca...Yes, we do...

More and more I am convinced that the Island Mas crew will be responsible for taking carnival in Jamaica to the next level. Unlike the Bacchanal organizers, Island Mas is set on improving their offerings and making the fete scene as contemporary as possible. Although I Love Soca was a small event, it exceeded my expectations.
The Palms was well suited for the small crowd and the open air feature made it even more fitting for a carnival fete. The bathrooms were sufficient, kept clean for the entire night, and toilet paper was never lacking.

The most impressive aspect of the fete was the drinks! I mean the drinks were flowing...it was Johnnie, Johnnie and more Johnnie, and the 3 bars helped with getting drinks easily and quickly.

The music was for the most part on point with Smoke and Dei Musicale (from Trinidad) playing the best sets. DJ Sanjay played all the usual out of date tunes, which would not have been my choice, but in Jamaica, these selections are absolutely necessary...I know I am biased but I really agree with bringing DJs from T&T. For one, it makes some of these wannabe soca DJs look like amateurs and if they have any sense, they would try to learn something and move away from the standard 10 songs from the last 10 years...

Overall it was just a cool night with good friends, good music, a vibesy crowd and nuff drinks. I am really looking forward to what Island Mas has to offer next...

And the Prep Begins...

My Jamaica Carnival week was supposed to start on Wednesday with the I Love Soca fete at Devon house but after an almost 3hr wait for my costume at mas camp, I did not feel up to it. I had a headache and was extremely upset. I did not get the belt that I ordered; Bacchanal claimed to have ran out of Frenchmen armbands and I would get my band on the day of the road march...which did not make any sense to me because we know that on Sunday no one will be doing so. To top it off, miss thing CSR needed a serious attitude check. Bacchanal, please hire CSRs who are informed, efficient and can work well under pressure and don't tell me crap like"I'm just helping out" because guess what? the costume is not free...well you know that I had to tell her that I don't care about her working for her free costume...

By Thursday I got my belt adjusted by a seamstress for JA$1000 (wth!) and got the items to decorate my corset. By this time, I'm feeling better and thinking about going to Frenchmen Blocko but I also want to wake up to watch the Royal Wedding (yes, I'm a sucker for weddings). But my fete friend also had to wake up early so we decided to just settle for William and Catherine (my girl drop the "Kate" yes).

I took a nap after the wedding and decided to try mas camp for the armband because the guidelines clearly stated that persons without bands will not be allowed in the band even in the costume. So I got my band and even collected my boots from Carnival Kicks. The size 8 boots fit my size 7 feet really well with enough room for my insoles and toe protectors. They gained mucho points by bringing the boots to Jamaica to reduce the ridiculously high shipping fees....

At this point, I had my boots, my belt, armband and my corset was being decorated. I also had my VIP tics for the Machel show later that night so I was really pumped cuz nothing could be better than getting a good dose of Machel....

Ready to Advantage it???

There have been so many requests for Machel Montano by soca lovers here in Ja but Bacchanal responded that he was booked and could not accommodate Jamaica in his schedule....Yeah right because All Island Carnival has successfully booked Mr HD for their J'ouvert on April 29th. Who say Machel? So April 29th is going to be crazy with 3 J'ouvert events being advertised- Bacchanal's J'ouvert with Bunji, Faye Ann and the Asylum band; Joker's Wild and Island Mas' J'ouvert with no performers; and All Island with Machel.

It's obvious that Machel being a Bmobile spokesperson may not be able to perform with Bacchanal, a Digicel sponsored entity although 2 years ago, Machel did perform at Beach J'ouvert so probably at that time there was some break in the contract. But I don't think that Bacchanal is going to lose patrons to All Island. The Lime sponsored event has a non uptown following particularly the Byron Lee following who always come out in large numbers. But I'm impressed with the reasonably priced tickets. And I love the promo video; click here to see it....

Feteing this week and Gully Matters

This weekend things are gearing up for Carnival in Jamaica. It all begins tonight at mas camp with Shurwayne Winchester as their live act...I'm not a big Shurwayne fan especially after that mess at this year's groovy soca finals. Shurwayne has a great voice and I only like a few of his songs- Doh Stop, Carnival Please Stay, Make it Yours (with Maxi Priest) and Murder. Dead or Alive and De Band Coming are my least favourites but these tunes are big here in Jamaica 6 years later. If I get a lime, I'll go but no rush for this performance, I'm saving my excitement for Kees!!!

Tomorrow, Island Mas has moved its weekly fete to Village Blues Bar which is a tiny venue but I'm assuming that they have not been getting the turn out they want at Cuddyz...But they promise all the latest songs from DJ Billy and this week's guest selector, The Firestarter. But kudos to Island Mas for bringing a fresh vibe to Carnival in Jamaica. And finally, you can check out SOS on Sunday afternoon. I've been hearing that it's a more mature crowd but the music is good and the drinks are cheap.

On a costume note, final payments for costumes are due this upcoming week. The Sona section still has costumes and tshirts are also available for Frenchmen and Digicel.

On a Caricom note, just a warning to my Trinis, keep a low profile; you know we could easily be labelled as Bajan in Jamaica; and fake ignorance with any questions about the KMC-Movado feud...KMC who? Gully mi seh!

Carnival this Weekend in Jamaica!

So folks the weekend is finally here with lots of events to choose from to get your Carnival fix. I heard that the Frenchmen's Blocko (not to be confused with the Bacchanal Jamaica Blocko) that was held last night was a success. The party had a good vibe and it was well worth the JA$2000. Later tonight, Shurwayne Winchester and Y.O.U. along with Imij and Company will be at The Bacchanal J'ouvert at mas camp. The paint will be distributed at mas camp before they go on the road in New Kingston. Some persons are opting to meet the band on the road without going to the show which is fun too. Bacchanal will also be providing water trucks for people to wash off the paint before they get home because of the water restrictions. I know that paint is necessary for J'ouvert but unlike the paint used in Trinidad, this paint is very difficult to wash off because I think it's not mixed properly. Considering the critical water situation, using valuable water to wash off J'ouvert paint seems selfish. Most importantly, I urge everyone to be careful on the road...there's usually very little security and it becomes a free for all kind of thing.

Apparently Joker's Wild J'ouvert has been cancelled and I don't why the people acting as if it was never on. It's a good thing I saw the flyer with my own eyes. But I am not surprised: how did they expect people to pay all that money to see no one perform?? Best of luck next year!

Tomorrow Island Mas will be hosting their WATA party, another sore issue with me. Firstly, there should be no water parties during this period even though they will be getting the water trucked from outside of Kingston. Guess what...it's still water being wasted...I don't care if the water coming from the moon...the fact is that there are people who have not received water since December and that water can be used by someone who actually needs it for their survival. In a later press release, Island mas claimed that they will abandon the water truck idea and it will now be a foam party because this needs less water....it's still a waste of water!

You can also do Bazodee on Saturday which is all inclusive and expensive but if you can afford it...I fully endorse this fete. They are even offering a Trip for 2 to Crop Over as the gate prize (keeping fingers crossed!). I collected by reserved tickets yesterday at the Pure Country Building on Deanery Rd. so I'm not sure how people will get tickets tomorrow. Will let you know how this one goes...

The road march is on Sunday from about 10am to 4:30pm but if you didn't get a costume, you can check out the Socamaloo Soca Road March Watch Party (the name real long boy). It will be held at the Keycard Beach Village on Trafalgar Rd. from 10am until 10pm complete with the whole beach vibes which include sand and Hellshire fish and lobster on sale. I get the feeling that this fete will attract a lot of persons because of its location.

Just a follow up to the last post: I still didn't get my complimentary bottle of Pure Country Orange Juice! Doh worry, there's still tomorrow!