So, after another LONG drive to Margate Fort Lauderdale I had really great expectations for Black and White fete, which in the end can be summed up with the words "sweat box",;I swear when the fete reached full sold out capacity the air outside (which is muggy and humid) was cooler than in the venue!
We arrived to meet a line of people awaiting entry to the event, true to form the ladies and men were very stylishly attired in the recommended colour scheme, but I got the impression that the majority of the patrons were there for the food and to socialise as they were either eating or chit chatting when I surveyed the different nooks of the venue. Apparently the roti, jerk chicken and Chinese food on sale were a hit among the crowd. The lay out went like this; a foyer(, main chit chat central) a room off the foyer with the live rhythm section that lead into a main ballroom where the DJs and stage was set up, then the bar opposite the foyer. The layout to me interrupted the flow of the fete as there was no cohesive vibe, which was further exacerbated by the heat later on.
Arriving fairly early meant that we met the venue when the air conditioning and fans were working, the caveat being that we had to suffer through the first DJ of the night who had to be one of the most boring DJs ever! The music picked up when Private Ryan came on followed by Back to Basics who described the ball room as a sauna and he was spot on in that description. To say it was HOT is an understatement.
We eventually had to move out of the ballroom and took up position in the foyer for the rest of the night as that space was cooler, but not by much as other people spilled out of the ballroom and packed the foyer as well. Even the hallway leading to the restrooms, which was significantly cooler earlier in the night, was packed with patrons trying to escape the sweat box of the ballroom. I am thinking they switched off the air conditioning as it was way, way too hot and after a time the ceiling fans were not even spinning!
The good part of the fete was that the bar served Johnny Walker Black and Coconut water (yay, you could easily drink the equivalent ticket price of the fete with this) however the bar was VERY crowded. We found a spot to the very end of the bar where there were no lines and prompt fast service so for me, no issues with the bar at all. Oh, how could I forget, at 3:45AM you could get nothing but juice at the bar! Not to mention the entry /exit was through a narrow door with no order and people spilling into the bar area from either side of the door meant for some jostling and pushing to get into/out of the bar area. Depending on when you made a trip to the bar you were forced to squeeze through the ONE passageway!
I give kudos to the crowd for trying to enjoy the fete despite the terribly inconvenient heat problem, and I managed to enjoy my time there was well,if only thanks to Uncle Johnny, however this fete is scratched off my list for the future. If I go to Miami Carnival next year I am definitely hitting either Blocko or Super Friends. I went to Black and White , experienced it and can totally get the demographics of the crowd which was spoke about when I did my poll on which fete to choose between Black and White and Blocko to be honest, I think "my crowd" is of the latter event patronage.
DV 8 in Homestead today!! This one should be interesting , look out for my review and check out some photos from Black and White.
Bar
I was told it tasted good, in the pic is also
Uncle Johnny and jello shots.
Ballroom
End of the fete.....
