Greetings peeps, Kermit here welcoming you to the start of the 2010 DC Carnival season. The Islands in the Sun day fete kicks off the festivities and hence is my destination on this sunny Saturday afternoon. The previous year’s fetes were held at a golf course but this year, the venue was changed to the Laylinn Manor and, never having been there before, I was curious to see what the layout would be and what kind of vibe it would inspire.
Parking was in front of the manor but the actual party site was off to the side and around the back and, after presenting my ticket to the lovely ladies at the reception tent, I entered the fete area. Immediately as I entered on the left was the bar, and clockwise around the pool were the food stations, the iceblock shot tent, and the main dance area. The sun was setting, a warm breeze was blowing, and sweet tunes were playing. The venue was nicely decorated with balloons and beautiful people liming and I must say, it presented quite a picturesque poolside view.
Because of past experience with this and similar events, I knew that this idyllic scene would eventually transform into a mass of wining, jumping, and waving bodies and with the pool right there, somebody MUST take a dip in the cool blue. Right now though, thoughts of wildness were far from people’s minds as they enjoyed the food, got their drink on and mixed and mingled.
After chowing down on some bake and saltfish and a nice plate of jerked chicken, I decided to pay a visit to the crowd surrounding the iceblock shot tent. Judging from the cheering coming from this area, there seemed to be lots going on and I wanted to capture all the sights. The Caribunited girls were manning the block with all the excitement and enthusiasm that we have come to expect from these vivacious young ladies and as I watched, they inveigled several passers-by to partake of their ice-cold liquid goodness. This year’s block apparently started out the day as a bottle (think Absolut) with a groove down the middle but during the afternoon’s activities the ladies’ actions caused the head of the bottle to break leaving only the bottle’s body.
Undeterred, the resourceful Caribunited ladies pressed on and through skillful
manipulation of the body only, they were able to channel the liquid goodness into the waiting mouths at its end (insert your own dutty joke here). After watching for a while, the liquid goodness looked too good to refuse so I gave in to their exhortations and crouched, drank, and rose refreshed and ready to party hard.
As in chemistry, there are certain elements that when mixed together will produce the same result no matter when or how they are mixed and this is largely the same when it comes to parties. Let me present you with this question: What do you think is most likely to happen when you combine hot weather, unlimited alcohol, and sizzling soca music with a pool? Is it more likely that partygoers, dressed in their finery and pointy shoes will (a) mix and mingle poolside all night and not venture into the pool, or (b) take a dip and a wine in the pool because it would be a shame to waste all de cool, cool water? Like you my peeps, I would pick choice (b) and Caribunited it seems would agree so, in the interest of safety, they hired a lifeguard to be on duty for the duration of the fete. Of course Mr. Lifeguard didn’t really have too much to do even when the allure of the pool became too great for some of the patrons and they palanced in de pool (you knew it was bound to happen).
As the night progressed, it became more and more obvious that the people in the pool were not in any danger of drowning especially since the women in the pool had an escort of men circling them ready to provide any assistance necessary (or imagined) at a moment’s notice. Mr. Lifeguard, thus being slightly relieved from maintaining constant vigilance, was then able to participate in our culture with the help of some food and a bottom or two.
And of course once people in de water, de party start for real! People were wining on everything everywhere and when I say everywhere, I do mean everywhere. Usually, in a fete such as this, there is winery almost everywhere. I say almost because there is usually one place devoid of wildness, one small oasis of calm amongst the fury of the storm, one area where all of the bottom is NOT yours and that area is behind the 1’s and 2’s. Our resident DJ Sprang International operates like a conductor directing a symphony and rarely is he ever distracted or disturbed from practicing his art. Today however, was one of those rare occasions where the maestro, instead of wielding his baton, had to handle horns, tubas, and a snare drum up close and personal, but I do not blame him for this. Oh no peeps, I blame the hype man.
A good hype man works in conjunction with the DJ to elevate the party from a good fete to a great one and with SI this is usually the norm but tonight was anything but normal. Tony was doing his thing and the fete was sweet like a Julie mango when apparently somebody threw a wildness vaps in de air and Tony ketch it. I wasn’t paying much mind to the words he was saying until I noticed the effect it was having on a particular group of women. These women were happy like pappy wining on de side when Tinsel Tongue Tony started speaking to them encouraging them to come and wine with the DJ. Now I don’t know if he didn’t fully appreciate the power he had over the group but the next thing I know, they had moved from the side of the fete to directly in front of the DJ stage. I am sure that at this point he knew he had started something sinister and somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind he knew he should pause but after ketching a wildness vaps, there was nothing to it, but to do it. He whipped the ladies up even further and before you know it, they stormed the stage and had their way with Sprang.
Ironically, they left the instigator mostly alone and focused on the DJ. I mean, even one of the turntables had a bamsee on it but none for Tony. Hard luck there saddis, maybe next time.
After witnessing this, I knew that nothing was sacred and for the rest of the night I kept a wary eye on the flash mob lest they get it into their minds to swing their engines on a poor helpless amphibian, but to my relief, I was unmolestered and at midnight when the party eventually ended, we ate our hot, delicious corn soup and headed home well satisfied with the night’s activities. Islands in the Sun 2010 was an excellent party with plenty fun, food, and drinks in a perfect venue and I look forward to the rest of the carnival season going this well.
Enjoy
the pics peeps, DC Carnival has started and Tribe’s Ignite is next.
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