Monday Question Time

It's another week, another round of questions!Please leave your queries for our band leader via comment or send me an email with your question at trinicarnivaldiary@yahoo.com.

Instant Make Up..

This year I introduced you all to Coloronpro Instant Eye Makeup which I, and several other bloggers, used for Carnival. The eyeshadow sheets were easy to use, the shade I got was "noche" and it worked well on Monday! I especially liked the fancy ones like the Zebra and Leopard which looked great with Island People's costumes. Browsing the Coloronpro website I see some new shades that look great!

You are probably thinking what is the big deal over Instant Makeup when you have lots of eyeshadow stashed away in your makeup bag. Well, Instant Makeup easy to apply and gives you one complete eye makeup look with just one application; if you have no idea how to apply makeup it is a cool tool.

For instance, I gave my friend (pictured below) the other shade I got, Pink Lemonade, for her to use on Tuesday since she was not adept at applying eye makeup and with additional face jewels it looked pretty good for someone who did not use a professional makeup artist or had any experience at applying makeup:

Coloronpro Makeup still going after lunch (and crossing both downtown and the Savannah stage)

Now, in addition to Coloronpro AVON has introduced the same Instant Eye makeup concept with their "In a Wink" eye shadow sheets. The shades do not look as enticing as Coloronpro, but the price is much cheaper, though we split a box of Coloronpro among us ordering customized shades.

So if you are at a lost when it comes to makeup and do not want the hassle of hiring a makeup artist, Instant Eye Makeup is an option worth exploring!

Monday Wear for the Birds?

2008 was the year of the boots, with many masqueraders returning to the footwear of choice that our parents wore years and years ago. The boots looked FABULOUS and really complemented the costume, from elaborately decorated to simple matching boots, I was pretty happy to see masqueraders putting forth the effort to accessorize their costume appropriately.

2009 we will be banishing the wife beater for Monday wear! That is for those who will not be wearing their costume or costume bra top at least. The goal is to retire the wife beater in all forms including airbrushed, sequined or in matching colour no matter how cute it is or how easy an option for Monday.

The time has come to glam up your Monday wear with creative and innovative ideas. It can be as simple as decorating a bra with gems, crystals or sequin braid paired with boy shorts , as easy as wearing a monokini or as elaborate as creating your own "costume" for Monday.

Personally I am tired of having all the glamour for only one day, I want to be fabulous on both days without having to wear my gorgeous costume on Monday as well. Boy shorts and wife beaters are simply not going to cut it especially since I also have my Monday boots begging for a costume in some form.No more wife beaters and shorts for Monday wear! We masqueraders can be much more creative and innovative than that!


Here are some ideas:

Crystal Bra:




Monokini






Feathered Body Art for the daring:

Sequin Tops

Other options can include scarves (jeweled and coin), coin belts and bras or even feather wings! The idea is to go forth and be creative.. Monday wear does not have to be your "boring" boy shorts and a wife beater for 2009.

SOURCE:
Rhinestone Bra - Frederick's of Hollywood
Mononkini - Ami Club Wear
Body Art - Enrapturing Re Visions

Teddy - Sherry's Lingere (cheapest price)

Braids by Passion

3 more months until Carnival and by now you have got your ticket to Trinidad, accommodation is booked, costume is going to be paid off next month, you have the makeup artist on lock down now what to do with your hair? Well, if you are looking for braids (the ubiquitous hairstyle of Carnival) Braids by Passion is offering this service and you can take a look at her work on her website HERE.

My favourites for Carnival are the Micro Braids (wet and wavy) and the Senegalese Twist (pictured below):

Braids by Passion


Braids in Action!


The best part is that Passion can do your hair in the comfort of your home; to make a booking or get more information contact Passion at 722 2118 or visit the website!

Carnival Accomodation...

Procrastinators still looking for Carnival Accommodation can check out the website Best of Trinidad and Tobago.

I am seeing some places Fully Booked for Carnival, but there are others that seem to be available . When I called the number listed on the website a voice message stated that there are indeed properties still available for Carnival. If interested click on the email link to the bottom of the page and send them an email with as much information as you can regarding the rentals.

Here is a map showing the areas in Port of Spain and environs where rentals are located; the areas of St Anns and Belmont are not shown and I do not believe the map to be to scale, however you can get an idea of where certain places are located in terms of proximity to the Savannah and Port of Spain.

click on photo to enlarge

Keep in mind that several fetes take place in and around Port of Spain/St Clair (Eyes Wide Shut at the Oval), Chaguaramas (Bacchanal Wednesday at Bowen Marine and Insomnia at Mobs2) and Diego Martin (The Vale Breakfast Party). Also the parade route for the most part starts in Woodbrook, heads into Port of Spain, around the Savannah and back to Woodbrook.

The Next Best Thing??

I have gotten several emails over the past few weeks all asking the same thing:

Hello,
Next yr will be my first opportunity to play mas, ive been lookin at the band websites for the bands listed on ur blog, i see a couple of costumes i live so far from pulse 8, genesis and evolution. are these bands good?(sic)

Hi
I will be attending Carnival 2009 for the first time with another female. We started our planning late so therefore most of the good costumes are sold out. Is there a good website to find costumes that people are re-sale? Also is there a way to go to Island People to find out if people haven't paid for their costumes? What advice do you have for me on getting into a good safe band at this point? Your response would be greatly appreciated.


Hi Saucy,
I am really interested in experiencing Trinidad carnival in 2009 and would love to play mas also. I have been following your blog so as to have an idea of what the best mas troupes are but there are sooo many. I am really really confused. It seems that Tribe and Island People, who I have heard so much about, have been sold out for weeks if not months. So I guess my question is for Bikini mas what is the next best thing???

My answer to everyone is basically the same; I do not recommend bands for any masqueraders to play in, I cannot personally vouch for any band except the ones that I have played in and I advise that to make a choice between the bands that are not sold out potential masqueraders should:

1.Decide on a costume they really like. There are still many bands with sections still open and there are some nice costumes in each band for the most part, and I can choose at least one section in every band that I would most likely play in if I were playing with that band.

2.Take into consideration the demographics of the band to get a sense of if that is where you fit in; age, size of the band, social network etc. For established bands it is as easy and looking at past photos of the band on the road for Carnival. However with new bands it might be more difficult to get a sense of what "crowd" they attract as they do not have a history. In that respect you can look at the persons who are on their committee, most times these people have experience with either social networks, parties or had sections in bands previously. If you do get a chance, go to the mas camp and see who else is looking around at the band.. that would give you a sense of who your other masqueraders might be.

3.When you have selected a band try and get reviews from past masqueraders. Friends and family might also be able to give recommendations and you can also read the reviews posted on this blog from masqueraders who have played with various bands; there are reviews of Pulse 8, Harts, Island People and D Krewe in the archives. I also recommend joining the band's Facebook group (if they have one) you can usually get some candid commentary on masquerader's experiences there as well. Word of mouth is the best recommendation you can get in my book.

A lot of talk about Carnival bands in Trinidad center around TRIBE and Island People, testament to their popularity is that both bands are now sold out. If you are hell bent on getting into these bands the options are staking out Carnival Junction, Trini Jungle Juice Classifieds and Trinidad Carnival Diary Forum for costumes being resold, albeit at a usually inflated price. You can also put your name on a waiting list at the mas camp or through individual designers like Sonia Mack for example and finally wait until Carnival Saturday/Sunday when costumes that are not paid off/collected post registration are sold. Chances are lots of other people will be also doing the same thing and the costumes do not sell at a discount for the popular bands!!!

These are a list of the bands that still have sections open:

Harts
Genesis
Evolution
Elements
Dream Team
Dkrewe
Brian Mc Farlane
Image Nation
Kaotic
Legacy
Pulse 8
Ronnie & Caro
Spice
Trevor Wallace
Trini Revellers
Wee International

Question and Answer With the Band Leader

How should bands go about raising money? I'm a bandleader in the states and it has been a challenge to receive corporate funding as carnival is not deemed as important or an effective marketing tool for corporations. We have parties and we've also also had fundraisers to raise money.

This will be a difficult question to answer. Really without corporate sponsorship and parties there is precious little that can be done to raise funds.

Hiring a couple of professional photographers to take pictures on the road and selling them after is one way .After carnival some bands print and sell magazines, ( which of course you could try and sell advertising in.) But you know it's pretty hard to think of much else right now.You see I am from a well established band over here and we've had the same sponsors with us for many years, as well as new sponsors that come and go every year. And throwing carnival fetes is second nature to us.

It's hard to say what will work for you in the United States, as I am not familiar with your market. We make costumes all the time for bands, nightclubs and casinos, but we make it here and ship it to the U.S. But as a person familiar with marketing what I can suggest is maybe getting advice, or hire a marketing company to assist you. Again depending on the cost this may not be an option. It goes without saying to extend the size of your band is always the way to go. To do that, I would try to reach the people in the U.S. (or anywhere come to think about it) who love to party the most. Young adults like college students, also there are lots of West Indians studying in the U.S.. Sell the whole idea maybe as a Mardi Gras party or Cancun spring break atmosphere,and offer special reduce rates for those with college ID, and put together a committee of their peers that can reach out to them in return for whatever (money, free costume ?). It is not going to be easy but building the membership of your band will eventually bring the advertisers and of course increased revenue from both costume sales and fetes. Hope this was some help.

Who chooses the road march? Is it left solely up to the dj's or do the band leaders have some sort of say?

Yes we can have a say, especially if we want a certain song that may relate to the theme we have produced, but in general we leave it to the individual dj or band to decide.

How do bandleaders or for that matter the designers, feel about masqueraders making drastic changes to their costumes??

In general we don't like it and we tolerate it within reason, but when it is over done it effects the overall presentation, and sticks out like a sore thumb. Even bandannas and rags that people love to wave if they are not matching the color of the costume can spoil the effect. So these things are not liked at all, but some band leaders are mare tolerant than others.I always keep in the back of my mind that my masqueraders have paid a lot of money for this costume so very rarely I do anything about it. Unless of course the changes are absolutely ridiculous.

How does one go about designing and promoting for various Mas Bands and/or sections? Is it a profitable venture?

Great designs, quality productions, dependability, and affordability apply here as in any business. Getting into the mas making fraternity is not easy. It often requires a recommendation from someone respected by the fraternity, and even then if we give work to a rookie, we do it very carefully giving only the simpler productions with limited amounts, this business is to competitive to take such risks. Once you've proven your self and this may take a couple years you will be surprised at the amount of work you can get. We are always looking for new people who are capable, but we are also careful on recruiting them.

Hope I answered your questions I look forward to hearing from you next week.
B.L.

Vintage Tuesdays

In 1958 Band Wars were exactly that, a war, with spectators, masqueraders and even the police getting injured when bands clashed.

To read today's Vintage Tuesday click on the book below:

Or download the articles HERE.

Mystery Solved

On Saturday I asked the question why did the section "Eden's Lust" disappear from Evolution's website? Well, the answer is that the designer of the section, Jamilla Jeffery, has parted ways with Evolution on her own accord and the section will not be appearing in Evolution for 2009 or any other band as a matter of fact.

Jamilla Jeffery will be designing a brand new section for another band (yet to be revealed ) so we shall see one of her creations on the road for Carnival 2009. Ms Jeffery has designed the popular section "Songbird"- Island People 2006, "Pierrot Grenade"- TRIBE 2007 and "Sun Goddess" - TRIBE 2008.

Seems like lots of shifting and moving among bands this season as we have had designers/section leaders leaving Kaotic, Elements and now Evolution!

Monday Question Time

It's that time again, bring on your questi0ns for our band leader. Leave a comment or send me an email with your question at trinicarnivaldiary@yahoo.com. And, I already got a question via email for this week:

How should bands go about raising money? I'm a bandleader in the states and it has been a challenge to receive corporate funding as carnival is not deemed as important or an effective marketing tool for corporations. We have parties and we've also also had fundraisers to raise money.

Party for a Cause

Disguise, a party to raise funds for a Kiddies carnival band targeted to the underprivileged children in the numerous homes around Trinidad. Anyone that loves carnival and thinks that these kids should have the opportunity to take part in the greatest show on earth should get themselves a ticket and support this cause.

EVENT- DISGUISE ( Release Your Inhibitions)
TYPE- COSTUME PARTY
DATE- 08TH NOVEMBER 2008
TIME - 10 PM TILL
VENUE- WEST PALM HOTEL POOL TERRACE

ALL INCLUSIVE PREMIUM BAR

FABULOUS PRIZES TO BE WON

COST-$ 250.00

TICKETS AND INFO CONTACT
ANTHONY- 708-2877
RICHARD- 708-0266
LEAH- 682-9515
DONNA- 493-1087
MARLON- 682-9269

ALL PROCEEDS GOES TOWARDS UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDRE

From 16 to 15................Missing Evolution Section

Can anyone shed light on why THIS section "Eden's Lust" by Jamilla Jeffrey is now missing from Evolution's website?

Need a Tan ?

Look what I found one of my trips to Harts mas camp:

click on photo to enlarge

Indoor Tanning Salon now available in Trinidad!

All of you masqueraders coming in from the cold and need that golden glow for Carnival but do not want to bake in the sun can now bake indoors or even choose the spray tan option.

Trini Revellers Website is up.. sorta

Almost one month and one week after their band launch Trini Revller's website is up, somewhat. There are still several section photographs and prices missing but you can view the sections Angostura Bitters, Black Gold, Folklore, Chutney, Nylon Pool, Panorama, Soca Warriors, Splendor of Buccoo Reef and Together We Aspire.

Now, personally I have had to warm up to Trini Reveller's costumes over the years (with the exception of a few sections, like Rugeri, D Krewe, Kyle Matas) as the theme is sometimes portrayed too literally and the costumes can be a bit ostentatious and gaudy. However, on the road the band usually makes a great presentation, my favourite years being French Revolution and Rome. Last Year's Viva Mexico also had some eye catching costumes with great headpieces. Even with masqueraders wearing Chandeliers on their heads the band still managed to look great on the road.

For 2009 I have to say that the costumes have fallen victim to slapping a name on some bikini and beads, a fate that has befallen most large bands for Carnival 2009.... gone are the days when one could look at a costume and hazard a guess at what it might represent. The trend has been around for some time, but Trini Revellers has never buckled until 2009. I would take the chandelier headpiece over some of the costumes I am seeing on their website any day!

Splendor of Buccoo Reef

The majority of the costumes that I have seen thus far are very generic and could fit into any band producing bikini and beads; not what I expected from Trini Revellers. Not to mention that some of the designs look low budget, sorry to say it, but the construction and designs are a bit shoddy. There is one section in particular Angostura Bitters, that looks like an art and craft school project, not even a decent headpiece! What happened Trini Revellers?

Angostura Bitters


Soca Warriors


PHOTO SOURCE:
www.trinirevellersmas.com

The Bets Are Off..

So the Carnival Bacchanal could never die!

Now news reaching the Sauce is that a POPuLAR party committee has allegedly decided not to take the gamble for 2009 and left out the newbie band under which their section is "SOLD OUT" (even though only 52 people are registered) and have gone back to the nest!!

And added to that, talk is that the once lauded head designer is rumoured to be looking to throw in his chips and fly the coop!

Well, all I can say is IF this is true the "old band" is VERY generous because the band wars between those bands was down right dutty, nasty and stink.

But, I am apt to believe that there is some truth in this rumour seeing as the POPuLAR party committee and affiliates of said "old band" just threw a party together and when I saw that pairing it left me with my EYES WIDE OPEN!!

The Seven Deadly Sins

Mas Jumbies has launched all 7 of their J'ouvert presentation "Diabolus Imperium", The Seven Deadly Sins and registration is available online.

I have been informed that Mas Jumbies will be having a 40ft music trailer for 2009 along with some new sponsors, one of which is Correias Hard Wine; please note that wine is TROUBLE!

For more information on Mas Jumbies or to register visit their website here.

Question and Answer With the Band Leader

Why is it that merchants in Trinidad complain about the importation of costumes, but yet they are not accessible. For example – this year I needed costumes to be made for my section in New York, I had a hard time finding vendors in Trinidad. It is only if you know someone or is family to a person that makes costumes that their information was shared. Yet, the merchants that imports costumes, most of them have websites and other forms of communication. I would like to give business to people in Trinidad but I cant get any contact information. Is their a website or some sort of means to obtain that information? If not, why?

A very good question, Local merchants complain because they are being bypassed so they do not make money.If you need costumes to be made the only suggestion I can give is to contact any of the established carnival bands here, and request the info you need. The easiest way would be via their website. As for the local costume production houses, it is their failure to advertise that is the issue. And also a lot of these production houses are geared to produce for the local carnival season and may not be functioning year round. In any case you can contact Tribe , Harts or Island People, as far as I know they all do costumes for foreign countries.

How much time does it actually take to plan and create a theme as well as costume for the next year?

Approximately 3 months from concept to finished prototypes.

As a followup to JV's question, and the answer may seem obvious, but why have a new band theme every year? I am not being silly, I would really like to know your point of view.

I don't quite understand, Are you sure you are not trying to be silly? The obvious would be to create different costumes and themes so as to give your masqueraders a variety of ways to enjoy their carnival every year. I hope I didn't miss the point of your question. If I did, let me know and I will try again next week.

Talk to you guys again next week.
BL

Vintage Tuesdays

The year was 1957, Carnival was under threat of a boycott by 16 bands over the fact that the prize money for band of the year was not enough. The ship running between Trinidad and Tobago broke down forcing Tobagonians to stay in Tobago for Carnival and George Bailey's "Back to Africa" wins Band of the Year which drew raves from the judges from "how much research went into the band" as well as captured spectators with sections such as Masai, Watusi, Zulu and Zambesi tribesmen.

"Oba Adelle I had a train 15 yards ling held by African Maidens and the burnished rhinestone studded crowns of the African Royalty and Court Ministers were masterpieces of metal craftsmanship".... read more in today's Vintage Tuesday:

Click on the book to read online

Or download today's articles HERE.

The following photograph can be found on Noel Norton's website along with other Carnival gems. Please visit his website to see other treasures from our Carnival History by Minshall, Berkely and others... really fabulous photographs:

George Bailey's "Back To Africa"


PHOTO SOURCE:
www.noelnorton.com

Shubh Divali

To all the Hindus celebrating the Festival of Light today....

Monday Question Time

It's MONDAY!! Time for more of your questions for the band leader.

Leave a comment or email me your questions at trinicarnivaldiary@yahoo.com.