TRINIDAD CARNIVAL 2020
Once a Trini reach in yuh fete - iz niiiicenessss! Woi woi
I promised myself that I would visit the Carnival Motherland before my next birthday on March 31st. And that I did. If you don't know about Trinidad Carnival, you have to book a whole year in advanced to be well organized and get your life together. I sat at work for - a .. reasonable amount of time, creating an excel spreadsheet of every concierge service I could find comparing where I would get the most bang for the many bucks I would have to come up with to make this trip happen. Therefore, I booked with the concierge service: NOSLEEPMAS. So much work goes into planning a Carnival. It is NOT your average "vacation." One must consider air bnb/hotel (a place to stay), flights, costumes/bands, airport & ground transportation, locations of fetes, and of course, the fetes themselves. NOSLEEPMAS took care of most of these things for me.
​
When planning any Carnival, be mindful of times for events. Fetes/J'ouverts can range anywhere from 2am - sunrise or 9am, some from 10am - 2pm, 11am - 7pm, 10pm - 4am.. you get the point. Don't tire yourself out. Carnival is PACE. Make sure you have stamina, stay hydrated and find a way to get rest in between. If you lack sleep and energy, don't worry, Soca will take care of that for you.
​
​
MARACAS BEACH LIME
I visited sweet Trinidad and Tobago back in 2015 and didn't have enough time to visit Maracas Beach.
​
I made sure that I would make it there during Carnival time. A "Maracas Beach Lime" was provided in my concierge service package (another reason why I chose them), and it was set during the perfect time and day. We went on Sunday right after Soaka Street Festival Cruise and right before J'ouvert. The time for this beach lime was perfect because it's a good time to relax before having to wake up during wee hours of the morning to pelt waist for miles while getting dirty.
​
It's not my favorite beach because the waters were pretty rough. But the roti, curry chicken and channa on my plate (provided by No Sleep Mas family) was everything. Definitely my highlight meal during my trip.
RED ANTS J'OUVERT - HAWAIIANTS THEME
I woke up around 2am Monday morning for RedAnts J'ouvert - reached into my goodie bag (provided by Red Ants) containing Hawaiian themed leis to decorate yourself with, a Hawaiiants tanktop (most girls cut theirs up, or tie it into a crop top) drinking/fete cup etc. RedAnts has ENDLESS PAINT. It was like they'd never run out lol. J'ouvert is an event where you wake up before the sun, chip down the road, & get DUTTY with paint, powder, mud, clay, oil, water (many J'ouvert selections provide different options to get dirty with). Wear clothing you don't care about - because you will not leave a J'ouvert clean. Even if you try, someone will tell you that you look too clean, and they will purposely get you dirty.
The only thing I will complain about was a local boy (who seems to have gotten jumped by other locals) - and he was left there looking completely lifeless and we just didn't know what to do. It was really sad to watch and even more difficult to get back in a "chipping/feteing" mood so that definitely took a while to comprehend and get over.
FIND ME ON THE ROAD WITH CARNIVAL ROGUE
My first time playing mas in Trinidad and I was NOT disappointed. Carnival Rogue was the best. The theme for Rogue this year was "BADASS" - where all the costumes look like street fighters and Mortal Kombat characters. If I'm being honest, I initially hated my costume. I usually go for bright, strappy, costumes. I'm so picky. I don't like anything dangly or fringy, around my neck or covering my shoulders (traps I be working too hard to cover up), or anything that covers/restricts my legs.. like I said - picky.
Costume pickup and delivery is almost always a hassle - no matter what band you play with, it's hit or miss. My concierge service took care of costume pickup for me which I am extremely grateful for (because boy do I have stories of mas bands taking advantage of the people dem monies!). We got THE MOST in our goody bags (also the bags themselves were super cute: it was a large teal/ivory canvas material bookbag that I plan to reuse). But they provided us with energy drinks, multiple drinking cups, a bottle of CAMPARI, a waist pouch, throw blanket - etc. More importantly, in the box where my costume was - was exactly what I paid for (as well as my small feather backpack (which I learned is mandatory for frontline bodywear).
Carnival Monday, I was super late and wasn't there for long and was also by myself just bumping into friends on the road so I can't really review that. On Carnival Tuesday, the drinks truck (I got Redbulls and water) was always attentive, bathrooms truck didn't run out of TP, and the music was great. The food though ehh. At the lunch stop, I wanted the chicken lasagna (which was amazing - I tried it from someone else) and they ran out. So I tried to settle for a chicken wrap - they ran out of wraps, and I ended up with rice and BBQ chicken which was okay - just cold. Nonetheless, I ate and continued on the road. Shout out to my friend Janea on the road who never let me out of her sight and cared for me on the road!
​
​
Sunday AM was Soaka Street Festival. The vibes and level of freedom in this fete were unmatched. It's a constant wet, powder & paint fete. The men with hoses will reach you and wet you down eventually. There were different stands for all kinds of foods from chicken and waffles, to wings, churros, doubles, etc.
Saturday midday was Soca Brainwash. I never really attend SBW because I don't like to fall into the hype. BUT, I had to do it for Trinidad. Private Ryan exceeded my expectations, DJs were on point, the displays all around the venue surrounding the "Treasures of the Orient" theme were all beautiful, the souvenirs/trinkets from the colorful umbrellas, to beautifully decorated fans - everything was great. It went from stush fete, to wet fete & ended with everyone covered in powder.
FETES
Thursday nights fete was "Tribe Ignite" at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Woodbrook. I found the crowd to be a bit stush at first but it picked up - and Kes put on a great performance as usual. Silent Morning (boat ride) was Friday morning. I am a loyal Silent Morning attendee but this one ended about 2 hours or so after it started. Now like any other boatride, it left over an hour later than the time posted which is expected and the music took about 20 mins to come through the speakers. It had 2 boats (one all inclusive & one cooler) - I attended the cooler one (as I don't drink). The vibe was killed when the boat was called back to shore so we can "disembark & get back on" for a headcount (and vby headcount I mean manually writing first & last names with a pen and pad) for Trinidad authorities (men and women officers with rifles) to greet us all :). Once I got off that boat, I was done and just wanted to be back at my hotel. A lot of people complained about how this would damage the Silent Morning brand and how promoters put peoples lives at risk for having an "over capacity event & not enough life jackets." FYI: They said the contract allowed that specific vessel 400 people and they had 321 patrons on board. I didn't let this spoil how I feel about SM because it is a brand that has been up and running successfully for years and I know there are more politics behind events that us patrons do not understand. So I can't be dramatic and say I will never attend another SM event. *Update: an email was sent 03/06/2020 clearing the SM brand from violating any kind of contract agreement and remaining within legal parameters of their contract.*
Friday midday - night was "Scorch _uck Work" - which is always a vibe. The music was pumping, the MC's had crowd control and interaction, alcohol free snow cones and nonstop vibes. I had to wake up about 6am Saturday for "STRUT cooler cruise." This cruise was alright. Problem Child performed-ish. I felt like I was partying alone -shrugs-. The doubles and lo mein were actually really good.
TRINIDADIAN EATS
I'll skip the bake & shark, or just eat the bake. But buss up with curry chicken breast & channa will always be my go to.
There's a constant debate on who has the best KFC in the Caribbean. My taste buds currently go with Jamaica's KFC but I'm also not a foodie, and I was also advised to try Trini KFC when it is NOT Carnival season because it's rushed and not made with as much love because EVERYONE is trying to get KFC during Carnival time.
Doubles are bomb, but not for everyone. It's made with two flat pieces of fried dough, with curry channa (chickpeas), and different chutney sauces - and sometimes peppa sauce. Choose wisely though, some people don't know what "slight peppa" means LOL
NO SLEEP MAS REVIEW
I chose to book with NOSLEEPMAS because they included transportation to & from every fete, they had a Maracas Beach Lime day, allocated up to $850 towards a costume and had excellent communication with my questions, comments and concerns. I feel like this group had a lot of first timers (although I think Trinidad shouldn't be anyone's first first Carnival) so I had to edit my package a bit because I knew what I would want. Farah is a saint. Watching her & her team deal with multiple personalities (including my own) and going days without sleep to make sure we all had everything we needed was bittersweet and appreciated.