Harts Launch!

Harts Carnival 2009 presentation

August 16th

Country Club

Theme.. to be revealed !

More Crop Over Costumes...

I don't think I have to repeat myself again on this topic, just let the photographs speak for themselves:

Genesis 2008- Phantom of the Opera


Fantasy 2008- Mystical Forest


Pulse 8 2008- Ras al Hahout


Blaze 2008- Heat


Pulse 8 2008- Henna Painters


Blaze 2008- Glow

Genesis, Pulse 8, Ronnie& Caro, Wee International and Island People... which band is next?

In other Crop Over news Power X Four will be launching on June 21st , but their websites is expected to be updated with photographs and prices soon.

U.K. masqueraders wishing to register with Power X Four, will be able do so via email and/ or the Trinidadfetetickets website.

More details on the featured Crop Over bands "Fantasy" and "Blaze" can be found at kadooment.com

Who Say Band Launching??

This one is for all those in the Florida area, Spirit airlines has a special $8.00 fare (plus taxes) to Port of Spain Trinidad from Fort Lauderdale on these dates:

Port of Spain, Trinidad $8* Each Way 6/17, 6/24, 7/1, 7/8, 7/15, 7/22, 7/29, 8/5

PERFECT timing for TRIBE's launch which I have heard is THE launch you must attend for Carnival 2009 as it will be out of this world.. well, so I heard!!

So, if you have the time off, the total fare is only $98.85!! The special ends at midnight tonight so get on this one quick!

Crop Over Cool Down

All inclusive boat cruise on the Harbour Master, tickets available online from www.trinidadfetetickets.blogspot.com:

Tuesday 5th August 2008
10:30AM - 3:00PM
on board HARBOUR MASTER - BARBADOS

buffet lunch, snorkelling & drinks included......

Music by: Martin Jay, Peter Coppin & DJ Bliss

Adrenaline City"- The Ultimate pre-DC Carnival event

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Adrenaline City featuring Trinidadian Calypsonian David Rudder at Zanzibar

Renowned Calypsonian, David Rudder, will be performing on Friday June 20th, 2008 at Zanzibar Nightclub in Washington, DC. Rudder will be the headline artist at the party titled Adrenaline City after one of Rudder's top selling singles. The event will be hosted by Fevah Entertainment in conjunction with Pumpstation Entertainment and the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Washington, DC.

In addition to the musical sensation's performance, hosted by Neil Mattei, this cultural extravaganza will honor Caribbean radio host John Blake of WHUR for his 36 years in business and Von Martin of WPFW for his retirement after 33 years of founding Caribbeana radio services. Come out and celebrate the tremendous contributions of these men to the Caribbean Community in the Washington Metropolitan Area .

Adrenaline City promises to be the ultimate pre-DC carnival experience. David Rudder backed by the Sunshine Band will be performing some of his classics and crowd favorites, bringing the vibrant sounds of soca and calypso to the DC waterfront. Some of Rudder's hits The Hammer, Song for a Lonely Soul and Bahia Girl that traditionally capture the spirit of the audience, accompanied by a live rhythm section, and dancers will ensure a show full of energy and non-stop adrenaline.

Kaotic Band Launch

Kaotic presents 'Life Unleased' for Trinidad Carnival 2009
Band-Launching: Sunday July 13th 2008
Venue: Kaotic City at St. John's
Fitzblackman Drive, Woodbrook, PoS.
Doors open at 5pm

Early bird tickets available at $100 for a LIMITED time ONLY!!!

"Live performances from top soca artists, gorgeous costumes and many other surprises are in store!!!"

Visit Kaotic's website for information on where to purchase tickets and to view the band's promotional video: http://www.kaoticcarnival.com/

Jewels de Carnaval presents Cirque du Soleil

Here is another option for Notting Hill Carnival, Cirque du Soleil, a special section in the band Arawak.

For more information on costume prices and registration visit Jewels de Carnival's website.

Ierie Love.....

Heaven and Earth...

Cupid/Love - Red with WINGS!!Medium sized,feathered Wings

Ierie (irie) - Red, Yellow and Green.... of course!

New Kids On The Block...

Trinidad Carnival 2009 will see three more new bands enter the arena; Elements, Kaotic and Spice. This is in addition to the new bands that debuted in 2008; Ronnie & Caro, Evolution, Wee International and D Krewe plus the bands already in existence such as Harts, Island People, Mc Farlane, TRIBE, Pulse 8, Dream Team, Legacy, Genesis, Masquerade, Trevor Wallace, Image Nation, and Trini Revellers. That makes a total of 19 fairly popular bands (medium and large category) that masqueraders will have to choose from. We all know some bands will have more success than others in attracting masqueraders with the popular large bands being the most sought after.

From what I have seen of teaser costumes from the new bands so far they are all attractive, some more spectacular than others, however, I know very well that basing a choice to play mas with a specific band over another going by costume only is not always a wise move; other factors should motivate potential masqueraders in choosing the right band for them.

I expect that all new bands would have hiccups; TRIBE reached the Savannah at night in their debut year of 2005 due to a route detour to avoid waiting behind massive band Poison, not to mention their costume distribution was a mess because the mas camp was too small. Island People suffered late costume distribution because costumes were stuck in China when they burst unto the scene in 2006. Pulse 8 had to scrap a whole section because “materials did not arrive on time” in 2007 and in 2008 both Evolution and D Krewe had problems with costumes being delivered to masqueraders on time. Most of us were willing to give these bands a second chance, sometimes third, because other areas made up for the shortcomings, even though it seemed as if some bands took much longer to get their act together than others. So, note to new bands, masqueraders are forgiving people, but that does not mean you should not try your best to give us all that our hard earned money pays for and what is promised when trying to lure us to play with you!

For me I would hope that in addition to having gorgeous costumes the new bands that want to make an impact might be willing to heed some of the following suggestions coming from me, an avid lover of mas:

1. That costume prototypes displayed at the launch are what masqueraders get; no skimping on beads, sequins, baubles and feathers!
2. Online registration and website services should be made available on time so that overseas masqueraders get the same priority for registration as those locally based.
3. Prices are competitive, higher prices will not make your product more exclusive as you have NO history on which to sell the “experience”.
4. Costumes get into the country on time (for those ordering costumes wholesale) and are distributed on the days they are supposed to be distributed and with ALL pieces intact.
5. Road management is on point; lots of drinks, good flow of the band, adequate security.

Now some feedback is wanted from all you other masqueraders. If you decide to play with one of the new bands entering the Carnival arena what criteria would influence you to give them your support, and money, having no prior history to go by? What concerns do you have in playing with a new band and what assurances would you like to have to know that all that is promised is delivered and if not what compensation would be fair for a breach of this contract?

Kaotic in the news..

Check out this article in today's Woman's Express on new band Kaotic. Sorry to say that the reporter got a few facts wrong in and otherwise good article.

Here is the offending excerpt:

"It seems a little obscene to discuss Carnival 2009 in June 2008. But with the onslaught of launch after launch expected somewhere after Independence Day, this is the time for new bands to stick their beaded hands up, make their masquerade offerings to the masses and work feverishly on details and name recognition.

KAOTIC was the first band out of the blocks with the Movie Towne launch of their 2009 presentation, "Life Unleashed"

First off band launchings for Trinidad Carnival will begin on July 4th, the United States' Independence Day; from the article it seems as if the author is referring to Trinidad's Independence Day which is August 31st.

Secondly Kaotic is not the first band "out of the blocks" that title belongs to Elements who held their media launch in May. Third the media launch for Kaotic was not held at the Movie Towne Complex but at the Queen's Park Oval, Banquet Hall.

Sometimes I feel as if these reporters just write a story without actually having an understanding about what goes on behind the scenes for Carnival, operating with facts regurgitated by someone else!

Carnival Nationz Almost Sold out...

Registration continues today for Carnival Nationz "Pirates", but the selections are slim. Here is a sold out update at the close of registration yesterday:

SECTION	REGISTRATION STATUS
Misty Dawn (white)	4 SPOTS LEFT
Shipwreck (cream/turquoise/orange)	COMPLETELY SOLD OUT
Kacike (brown)	COMPLETELY SOLD OUT
Bullion & Baubles (gold/purple)	COMPLETELY SOLD OUT
Treasure Island (blue/silver)	50% SOLD OUT
Sextant Horizon (yellow)	COMPLETELY SOLD OUT
Calico Jack & Anne Bonny (black/fuchsia)	60% SOLD OUT
Captain Morgan's Wenches (red/gold)	75% SOLD OUT
CAW CAW!! (green)	COMPLETELY SOLD OUT

Good luck to those registering today!

Frequently Asked Carnival Questions

This blog has been in existence since August 2006 and I have covered many topics that hopefully helps masqueraders, old and new, in their whole Carnival experience and getting ready for mas. Recently I have been getting lots of emailed questions from first timers (Carnival Virgins) who need advice on everything from choosing a band to what fetes to go to. So, I have created a frequently asked question link section on the right on the blog as shown below:

click for large view

These links are all topics pertaining to Carnival preparation that I have covered in detail on the blog before.

In addition, if you are on the blog and looking for a specific topic you can use the search feature by typing in a few key words in the search bar which is pictured below on the top left of the blog screen (arrow points to it).

click for large view

After you type in your query, press "search blog" and a list of search results will show up.

If none of these links or searches turn up an answer to your question, feel free to email me at trinicarnivaldiary@yahoo.com!

DC Carnival Bus Trip

DC CARNIVAL BUS TRIP sponsored by VIRGINIA CARIBFEST JUNE 28, 2K8

1/2 OFF VIRGINIA CARIBFEST

T-SHIRTS...

BREAKFAST WILL BE ON SALE

click for large view

BAJE presents BLAZE!

Costumes for Baje's 2008 Crop Over presentation "Blaze" are now up on their website for viewing AND registration! The seven sections are:

Capoeira Showdown


Brazil


China Town


The Dragon


Rain Forest


Red Alarm


Blaze

Some of the better looking costumes for Crop Over in my opinion, though they do have a bit of a Neckelmann's finish to the beading I do like "Blaze".. that is the hottest one of the bunch to me!

Anyway for those looking to register for Crop Over get your fingers working as this band is notorious for selling out in record time leaving would be masqueraders in the dust.

Kudos for them making online registration available!

PHOTO SOURCE:
www.baje-intl.com

Seen on facebook ........

The desperation beings!

For people with TLCs that cannot make it next year, I am looking for three female TLCs for reg this summer. Win, win situation... You sell me the costumes after you register so my folks can play with Tribe next year and you still get to keep your TLC for future carnivals... I would risk waiting for open reg, but we all know Tribe selling out in two days this coming carnival.

Who else is thinking that the costume resale market will be even more cut throat for 2009?? Word to newbies, there are LOTS of other bands to choose from... no need to resort to this type of public begging.

SOURCE:
TRIBE 2k9!!!!!!!!! BIRDS OF A FEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carnival Nationz Registration....

Two sections are already SOLD OUT according to Carnival Nationz website after registration began for past masqueraders Wednesday; "Bullions & Baubles" and "Shipwreck" are gone. According to an email I got many other sections are close to selling out as well!!!

The following is a review from blogger TrInIgyal who successfully registered with Carnival Nationz yesterday:

"Girl, you REALLY live from Carnival to Carnival yunno!"

It's a saying I have heard from many of my Toronto counterparts. But can I help it? I think not. Have you ever tried to survive a winter out here? Carnival has become a cultural vessel for escape for me, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. And Caribana, though nowhere on the scale to Trinidad's finest, is of little exception. So naturally, any true Carnival baby preparing for his/her half-birthday celebrations of sorts can't help but feel the swell of excitement- the ultimate anticipation to satiety. =)

This year, deciding to play with Nationz again was a bit unexpected, but eventually not surprising. Last year, their customer service got put on blast, but itruth be told, they costumes were beautiful. I thought maybe this year I could have given Jamohl a lil' bligh, but after I perused those **ahem** options, I eventually ran back to the hand that bit AND fed me at the same time.

So. the Foster Car dealership where the registration is, it's in the east end of Toronto. Scarborough to be exact. I leave my house at 3pm.

"What do you mean? Didn't the website say registration begins at 6?"

Yup, it did. But just remember this: it is my humble opinion that, aside from Tribal Knights, Carnival Nationz has pretty much presented the best array of costumes for this season. So we anticipated the mob.

After having met my girlfriend at the subway station, we proceed to what we know is going to be an "entertaining" evening. We arrive promptly at 4:30pm, and there are about 35 people ahead of us already, including a very pregnant young lady, due this week. She has pre-conceived a game plan as well: walk with a lounge chair to sit outside and wait until the doors are open.

Her costume choice? "Sextant Horizons, so that it can cover up anything that I don't lose in time for being on the road!" Our hearty conversations continue for the duration of the wait, as we notice the line beginning to bend the corner of the carpark.

It was interesting to see how well people network. So well that their feet become planted into the ground IN FRONT OF YOU. Yes, that very ground that is aching my feet, because I have been standing here for over an hour. That was the one thing that sort of stirred my INNER GUNTA. People clearly had a problem with going to the back of the line. I had already decided from personal experience last year, if anyone made me miss the opportunity to get into the section I wanted, not even Haedes and his band of minions would be able to hold back my wrath. Not even samples from Flow 93.5 could contain my impatience. But Machel certainly soothed my soul from the massive speakers that could be heard from blocks away..."..Come make love to mehhh..ohhh-whooaaa..."

I digress...the doors opened at 6:20 pm. What, you were expecting them to be on-time? The side routes suddenly become swollen with people trying to make a sideways dash for the entrance. Naturally, they receive the look of death. The officials check your ID at the door, make sure your name is on the list of 2007 masqueraders, and let you in 8 at a time. At this point, I'm trying to decide between my top 2, worried that another costume my grab my eye, and then I go into a meltdown. The moment the lady at the door gave me a nod, I dashed to inspect evey single detail of the costume finalists. Along with CN officials, you also have reps trying to sell you cars. There's the catch, lol, I said to myself as they were dutifully IGNORED.

The costumes were well-displayed. You were able to touch and tug at the prototypes, and there were reps around the costumes to answer the questions every masquerader asks to make an informed choice. There were also lights shone onto the costumes just to give the sparkling effect- good thinking!

Alas, one of my costume choices do not live up to the hype, and the one I was so set against becomes the more appealing choice.
The decision has been made.

I maneuever through the crowd to find a seamstress, finalize my measurements, and then have my application form signed off by one of the section leaders, who I must say was very pleasant. Curtis (Eustace) monitored every single occurence, making his presence felt. I then scramble to find a line to make my payment. There are about 4 cashiers operating, and every line snaked corners.

SIGH! So my girlfriends and I do the smart thing: we split up into different lines, and whomever gets to the front first, we join, pay, and get out, because by this time the place is CHAOS. Then, a lucky break. One of the CN attendees pull my girlfriends out of their lines, because a 5th register is being formed in the back. We beat the system, HA! The reps input our information into the system, take our payments, finalize our balance upon costume collection, give us our goodie back of a free t shirt and an envelope with junk mail from Fosters. I will definitely say that the process was a much less hassle from last year, possibly facilitated by the larger venue.

Did I mention that our "Loyalty Card" is not even laminated? Apparently the final prototypes will be available by time we have to collect our costumes. On my way out, I run into my guy friend who works for Nationz, and he told me on the spot that Shipwrecked is sold out. =/ Daaaaaammmnnn like the Black Magic of Toronto 2008!

As we leave, we see a crowd of about 150 people still waiting to get inside, and the staff URGING people who have already registered to leave so that they can let other people inside to register. The time? 8pm. The closing time? PROMPTLY at 9pm. Madness I say!

So from what I experienced yesterday from all the staff..they tried to keep their cool. Good improvements from last year. But you know...I'm a Tribe girl, so I will always say improvements can be made.

Now if I could only see into the future for costume collection...the plot thickens!.....

Many thanks to TrInIgyal for that excellent account of the registration madness!

The Missing Ingredient ...

Spice, the all female led new band for Trinidad Carnival 2009 held their media launch last night on the rooftop of Club Zen. Members of the media and specially invited guests were feted with complimentary drinks and canapes for the evening, and though a brief shower put a damper on the rousing performance of fire breathers at the entrance to the club, the show went on as scheduled albeit a bit late!

I was particularly pleased that the introduction of Spice was not a protracted one. After a speech by band spokeswoman Anya Elias, who informed all present that Carnival was dictated by women, she reiterated that Spice was the "best recipe for Carnival" , with a focus on "fresh faces,concepts and innovative ideas" and that their goal was "making Carnival better!".Soon it was time to view the costumes:

Ocean Salt

Brown Sugar

Revealed at last night's briefing was that the band will have 10 sections, some of which are Paprika, Ocean Salt, Nutmeg and Brown Sugar. Sections are designed by Leasel Rovedas, Sandra Hordatt, and Richard Anthony productions and concepts. Spice intends to compete in the large band category.

The name of Spice's debutante presentation is "The Missing Ingredient..." with the launch scheduled to take place some time in mid- July.

After having seen the costumes up close and from every possible angle I have to say that I do like Ocean Salt a lot, especially the massive headpiece as I am partial to large headpieces. I also like the use of the jeweled detail on the bra, belt and headpiece instead of appliqués; you really have to see this one in person to appreciate the use of stones as embellishments.

The super sexy plunge bra for Brown Sugar, designed by Sandra Hordatt, is very sexy and different from the usual bras that I have seen for costumes, the only thing is that style is not suited for all cup sizes. I like Brown Sugar's headpiece and the model assured me that it was very comfortable to wear, even with the asymmetrical detail on the forehead. The entire costume is very well decorated, look closely at the seed beads on the bra, but something about the belt reminds me of TRIBE's "Machu Pichu" of 2005.

click on photos for large view

For a large view just click on any of the photos; more photos of the can be seen at my Facebook album here.

I can only hope that the other costumes are just as impressive. As a yet another new band for 2009, I am very interested in seeing what Spice is bringing to the table that sets them apart from the others that are also gunning for the same pool of masqueraders! The costumes shown last night are lovely and the marketing concept of the band seems to be not one of a "band war", guns blazing attacking other bands, but just a group of friends coming together to have a good time; I like that approach!

The media launch last night brought out the usual crop of photographers and media representatives as well as well known designers and persons from TRIBE, Island People and Kaotic:

My only critique is that as a "media launch" the press kit had no information on the band or the persons behind the band; yesterday's article in the Trinidad Guardian gave much more information than what was presented on two flyers. Maybe this is a deliberate move to keep that information secret, however it kind of defeats the purpose of a media launch when not even the title of the presentation is revealed! I had to go digging on my own to get more information than what was officially given as the press kit. Spice also seemed very excited by the filming of a reality show that focuses on the making of the band which will be aired locally and regionally; I too cannot wait to see that one!

Anyway, it was a nice night, very low key affair that was not a long drawn out event; timing was just right, even though the whole "spicy chef" concept was lost on most of the guests present. The costumes were on point and the star of the show, I was impressed! Looking forward to all that Spice has to offer and to see how well they can survive what is shaping up to be a VERY good Carnival 2009 for masqueraders offering LOTS more choices to spice up the selection...

Contact information for Spice:
www.spicecarnival.com
Raeann (868) 685-1766
Anya (868)725-8688
Nicholas (868)367 0774

Kaotic Media Launch Photos

From triniscene.com; full gallery of pics here.

New DC Carnival events

Check out the flyer for more info:

click to enlarge

Spice in the News

Today's Trinidad Guardian features an article on the "all female" band SPICE and seems as if the media launch is TOMORROW at Zen.. great..!

Women Add Spice to Carnival
Female Executive at helm of new Mas Band

Anya Elias, executive member of the all-female mas band Spice, is all smiles for the camera. Photo: Dilip Singh

By Cherisse Moe

It has been said that Carnival is all about women and now that saying has become literal. There is now a new Carnival band on the scene called Spice, which is run exclusively by the fairer sex.

“The band is produced and managed by females. We take care of everything from top to bottom, from the concept to the production, we are in charge,” said executive band member Anya Elias.

The executive team is made up of nine women, whose ages range from early 20’s to early 30’s. The identities of Elias’ eight sisters-in-mas is being kept a well-guarded secret until a reality TV show on the band premieres.

While Spice is set to come out for Carnival 2009, Elias made it clear that they are not trying to compete with the other established large bands.

“We try to marry the traditional intangible values of Carnival with fresh faces, concepts and ideas. However, we realise that we are not coming into the market as number one,” noted the Tobago native. “We want to live up to the standards that Tribe and Island People have set.

“A lot of new bands are trying to attack and compete with other bands. We are not doing that. We just realise there is a market and we are tapping into it.”

An idea becomes reality

So, how did such a brilliant idea materialise? Well, according to Elias, it began with a simple conversation among friends.

“My friends and I were just talking and the ideas began to flow. We started to play around with names and came up with all sorts of different things and then we came up with Spice and we just ran with it,” the Roytec graduate said excitedly.

Woman is boss

“Carnival is all about women. We decide what fetes to go to, we decide what costumes are hot and we decide what music to listen to. Every woman is the face of Carnival,” articulated Elias as she explained the idea to have an executive team comprising only women.

Elias did admit, however, that while women were at the forefront of the band, there were a few men involved...in the background. “We do have male involvement, but it’s the women who basically run the show.

She continued: “We also teamed up with a lot of business people so we have the business aspect of it as well. We tried to put together the perfect team.”

Something for everyone

Fellas, have no fear this band does cater to you as well!

“Our band is for everybody, irrespective of gender, size, colour and age,” said Elias. “We want to show the true colours of T&T. Carnival is supposed to be a presentation and we should be proud to showcase it to the world.”

The ball is rolling

Elias said Spice is coming along great and is roaring and ready to go for C2K9.

“We will be ready for Carnival and all is going well so far. We even got an offer to do a reality show based on the concept of an all-female mas band,” she stated.

Masqueraders choosing to play in Spice can look forward to “a show on the road.”

She said: “We are going to give masqueraders what they want.

“Spice is the best recipe for Carnival. People can expect one hundred per cent flavour for C2K9 and nothing less.”

Spice has scheduled an official media launch tomorrow at Club Zen, Keate Street, Port-of Spain.

Some of the sections in Spice include:

• Brown Sugar
• Sea Salt
• Garden of Sage
• Meditteranean Borage

The headpiece for the section named Sea Salt, designed by Richard Anthony Productions & Concepts.

©2005-2006 Trinidad Publishing Company Limited