Gems 2011

The second new band for Carnival 2011, GEMS, has announced their theme, facebook group and  shared a bit about what the band will be about; check out the details below:

GEMS 2011..."Conquest of Alexander"

Excellence, Beauty and value will be coming to the streets of P.O.S 2011

A new addition to the Carnival Family, this band aims to please its masqueraders, promote total enjoyment and just simply give mind blowing experience, of such a wonderful, aesthetic, traditional festival.

Our theme for next year's highly anticipate Carnival is "Conquest of Alexander".

Look out for thrilling pieces that would encapsulate his story and display them in most colorful and jubilant art work!!!

*"Affordable, All-inclusive, Carnival fun"*

CONTACT: gemsmas@hotmail.com or Facebook Group

2010 Trinidad Carnival - Carnival Monday

Good morning neighbours, Kermit D. Frog here welcoming you to the Greatest Show on Earth: Trinidad Carnival.

Today is Carnival Monday and this is a day traditionally given over to mostly non-costumed masquerading in the streets of Port-of-Spain. Around mid to late morning, the J’Ouvert celebrations which began the night before start winding down and the main costumed bands start making their presence felt along the parade route. These bands assemble at different parts of the city and most have a start time of around 11:00 a.m. and, for the most part, they generally stick to that schedule. By 11:00 a.m. I was approaching Queens Royal College and was planning on simply heading downtown where my band, Tribe, was located when I ran into another band which had just crossed the savannah judging point. Harts, another and with a long and rich carnival history, was passing in front of me so I did what came naturally and started snapping away with the camera.

Like I mentioned before, Carnival Monday is a mostly non-costumed day, which is to say that masqueraders generally do not wear their entire costume today. This is to ensure that they look their best for the big spectacle that is Carnival Tuesday because while the costumes hold up pretty well for a day or so of intense winery on the streets, to try for two days of such activity would be asking way too much from the bikinis and beads and judging by the way these ladies were carrying on, it seemed unlikely that their costumery would last even one day.

After enjoying the scenes for a while, I resumed my search for Tribe and located them without too much trouble as they were all lined up and on the final approach to the savannah “stage”. After playing mas with the main stage and now without it, my views about that particular carnival institution have been strengthened and reinforced but I will not expound on them here. That will be for the Carnival Tuesday commentary because today is not a day to profile and stay in your section and wine in unison when directed. Today is a day to enjoy the world’s biggest and best street party and that is exactly what I did.

As usual, Tribe was completely on point with its drinks and music as I was never far from both. The ladies of Tribe were of course of the highest caliber both in looks and in wining skill and it was a very merry band that eventually made its way past the savannah and towards Tribe’s rest area for lunch. After eating our fill and resting for some time, the band resumed its march through the streets and I found myself marveling at the seemingly endless reserves of energy being displayed by these Tribers. They were partying hard from the time I met the band to when I left and I wondered how they could possibly hope match that pace on Carnival Tuesday which by now was only a scant few hours away.

Anyway, I am no longer a spring chicken, so after a short jump, I decided to head home for a cold shower, some hot food, and a good night’s rest because Tribe leaves bright and early the next morning and I was not going to miss a minute of it.

Enjoy this little taste peeps, (photos HERE) Carnival Tuesday is next……….

Skullduggery...Sections .. Part 3

Aren't you just a tad bit curious to see how these sections will be interpreted by Skullduggery? I know I am!

Bacchanal Factory On Triniscene

If you missed any of the must see episodes of Bacchanal Factory over the Carnival season, you can now catch up with all of them on Triniscene.com.

Best part about it is you can skip the parts you are really not interested in and get straight to the saucy bits!

Carnival in April and May!

The Easter Holidays in Trinidad and Tobago have come to an end with many of us now recuperating after enjoying THREE holidays in a row.  I myself am now coming out of a lethargic stupor, so lets catch up on all the Carnival events that will be happening in April and May, to tide us over until band launching season starts in full swing.

First up Jamaica Carnival climaxes this coming weekend with Bachannal Jouvert on Friday April 9th and Bacchanal Road March on Sunday April 11th. For a listing of other upcoming events check out Bacchanal Jamaica's website. Here are a few photos from Beach Jouvert which took place on April 3rd:

Wendy Fitzwilliam

Fay-Ann Lyons & Bunji Garlin

Following Jamaica Carnival we have St Thomas Carnival (April 4-24), St Maarten Carnival (April 15-May 3rd) Cayman Islands Carnival (April 25 - May 1) and  Tampa Carnival ( April 24).

In Trinidad Point Fortin Borough Day brings back Carnival in May, mark your Calenders, May 1st is when all the action goes down. And, to keep abreast of all that will be happening, including the listing of Jouvert Bands that will be participating in Borough Day, check out Point Alive.

See the Point Fortin Borough Day Calender of events and  what else is happening in May after the jump.

Jewels De Carnaval Section Launch

Click on flyer for details of the private section "Jewels De Carnaval", Burrokeets UL for Notting Hill Carnival, section launch:

Well Played Scorch!

The long advertised first "Carnival Edition" of Scorch Magazine is here. When I saw it mentioned on their website at a cost of $75.00TT ($12.00US) I was a bit surprised that you had to pay for it, knowing that the regular (petite) Scorch Magazine is free and it is a bit way past Carnival to start selling a Carnival Magazine. I mean I picked up my TRIBE magazine the same week Carnival came to an end.

Also, there is no mention on the website of exactly where to purchase the magazine so I forgot all about it. Yesterday I was at Hi Lo at West Malll and lo and behold there is the Scorch Carnival magazine at the cashier, beckoning with it's bright cover of a Xi Ling Shi masquerader. 

Well, I like all Trinis like to flip through any so called Carnival magazine first, before buying it. I mean,  why would I buy it if I am not in it? So, I picked up a copy of the Scorch Magazine only to realize it was properly well SEALED  in plastic as if  it were a Playboy magazine on sale! I was stumped with that one; a first. 

Needless to say since I could not flip through the magazine it stayed right there, especially at $75.00. But I have to hand it to Scorch for their  marketing strategy because it is the first time I have seen any magazine, apart from the Adult magazines, wrapped up in plastic on sale in Trinidad and Tobago.

I guess I will never know if I am in the magazine either, because the few "teaser" photos they have on their website all have BLURRED faces!! Well played Scorch... well played!

Happy Easter !

Rumor Control

Word reaching The Sauce is that a former Government Minister who is now Managing Director at Synergy TV has fired one half of the road march duo, Jason Williams (JW) along with Titan, from Synergy TV.

Allegedly JW was let go from Synergy TV because he was "not committed" to the show Synergy Nights as he has several engagements as Road March winner, outside of Trinidad and Tobago.

No, say it isn't so, I really liked looking at JW on Synergy Nights! Anyway, The Sauce is about to get to the bottom of this but if you have heard any rumours surrounding this alleged firing, leave me a comment.

EDITED TO ADD at 9:11AM:
The rumour was an April Fools prank!
Guess I have finally be caught! Good one Synergy!

More Skullduggery Sections....

Along with a new WEBSITE are some more sections from Skullduggery:

A Revolution... Carnival 2011

click for large view

Carnival Consultancy Services?

I have to say, one of the best parts of having a blog is opening up email from my readers. On any given day you never know what you are going to find. Minutes from a meeting, confidential information, hot gossip, photos and more often than not links to sites that my bloggers think are interesting.

So, I was particularly intrigued when someone sent me the link to a website called Carnival Consultancy Services 

click to enlarge

And  I am especially  amused by the part where they are boasting of being the "behind the scenes team" responsible for the" success" of many bands:

Having been responsible for the success of several well known bands in Trinidad and Tobago, CCS is now expanding their services both regionally and internationally.

Are we to believe some invisible super team is the reason some bands are a hit and others bombed?I wonder exactly which bands CCS have worked with? Any guesses? If these claims on that website are true,  I am sure these guys will be VERY busy for 2011! 

Check out the "NEWS" link on the website. CCS says that they are now going international with TWO clients for Cropover and Caribana and this is the first I am even hearing about this service!? I am surely slipping on getting the latest and hottest gossip around!

Sugar and Spice and everything nice!

Since rumours of this partner's split from Island People became the talk of the town just after Carnival, all have been waiting to see if it is indeed true. Well, sources have confirmed that the name of the new band from a former Island People investor is going to be called  "Sugar". I guess we already have Spice so, we needed Sugar? Not to mention every single person I have spoken to agreed that this person's attitude definitely needs some sweetness as they are a "cold stone"; not a very popular or likable person it seems! Disclaimer; I have never met or have any intimate knowledge of said person but their reputation precedes them is all I have to say.

Anyway, I am looking forward to the costumes from Sugar as one of my favourite young designers is said to be working with this band (among the others she already does designs for!). In addition there seems to be another new band waiting to be revealed in the wings, but this one everyone is being pretty silent about, and NO it is not going to be a TRIBE breakaway or a second TRIBE.. well, as far as I was told!

2010 Trinidad Carnival - J'Ouvert

Good mawnin peeps, Kermit here bringing you the scenes from J’Ouvert 2010. The crew and I had so much fun last year with the Cocoa Devils that, so as not to mess with a good thing, we decided to jump with them again and here we are at 2:30 am on Carnival Monday morning, heading down to the National Stadium to meet up with the rest of the Wining Devils.

The description of my experiences in Cocoa Devils will be brief as I will let my pictures do the talking due to the fact that I am not able to coherently describe everything I saw while cavorting through the streets of Port-of-Spain that morning. I do remember seeing horses in hats being ridden by cowboys in dresses; I remember seeing a herd of pigs with white sticks; I remember a big-bottomed-big-chested Dame Lorraine dancing on a wall; I remember seeing plenty people wining on each other and having a fine time and fortunately most of what I remember seeing is in the album so if yuh doh believe mih, take a look.

To me, J’Ouvert is the part of carnival that I look forward to the most. Very few experiences compare to covering yourself in warm cocoa and parading through the streets of a slumbering city until the sun rises. A good J’Ouvert symbolizes all that is special about the carnival spirit. It doesn’t matter what you cover yourself with, whether it is cocoa, mud, paint, powder, or some combination thereof; what matters is that you are now a part of a larger being that is hell bent on having fun while expanding its numbers by duttying up as many onlookers as possible.

It doesn’t matter who or what you were before you gave in to the J’Ouvert spirit; you could have been a doctor, lawyer, dishwasher, carpenter, mechanic, or even self-employed, you could be young, or not so young, slim or not so slim, once that layer of something covered you, you transcended the physical and were reborn with your fellow masqueraders becoming children of the night and after casting off the trappings and restrictions of adulthood and society’s gaze, you were now free to run and jump and play in the dark to your heart’s content and that is exactly what we did.

J’Ouvert is the last great equalizer and it is only here that every creed and race truly finds an equal place and we see indisputable proof that God has indeed blessed our nation.

Rest assured that in 2011 I will be a Cocoa Devil once again.

Enjoy the pics peeps, Carnival Monday is next.

Celebrity Carnival

According to a press release sent out by Antilla Carnival last week one would believe they were the first to bring celebrities to Trinidad Carnival. If memory serves me right we have had our share of celebrities visiting during Trinidad Carnival in the past.

Victoria Rowell of The Young and Restless played mas with Island Events section in Poison Carnival 2003, Gabrielle Union and Anthony Anderson played with Island Events the band the following year in 2004, Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson played in TRIBE 2005, Micheal Ealy has played in TRIBE in 2007 and 2008. Halle Berry and Flavor Flav both  showed up at a Girl Power fete in 2001 and 2008 respectively.Not to mention we have had a host of beauty queens playing mas in Trinidad; Sushmita Sen (Miss Universe 1994) and Mpule Kewlagobe (Miss Universe 1999) both played in Harts in 2001.And this was not AJ Calloway's first visit to Trinidad either

I have never gotten the celebrity appeal for Carnival, especially as the ones who were here this year went under the radar; how many of you even knew that  Tyson Beckford or Mya were going to be at Trinidad Carnival? Rumours were that Tyson Beckford did not want anyone to take his photograph (I am yet to see him show up in one Facebook album posing with a random person at any event ) but I did see Mya was kind enough to pose for photos with a few "fans" while she was hanging out on the streets Carnival Tuesday. 

Ok, so the rationale for the celebrity link to Trinidad's Carnival is that it gives the festival and the promoters who get the celebrities here, extra publicity. Though, I do not see if the celebrities are not actually involved in playing mas  how that exactly lends credence to the fact that one SHOULD come to Trinidad and play mas. What is the point of coming all the way to Trinidad for Carnival and NOT playing mas? Is showing up and making an appearance at a private event the same as getting involved in the culture?

I may be a bit jaded  but I would have been throughly impressed if Tyson Beckford had taken part in Jouvert, covered in head to toe with mud and paint! Queen Latifah did an excellent job on Jay Leno ( despite having her jewelry stolen) when she talked about her vacation  liming in Trinidad and Tobago; maybe next year they could get her to come next year and actually play mas in a costume!

Anyway, check out the press release by Antilla Carnival  and photos of the celebrities who graced our Carnival 2010:

 Jason Williams (JW), singer of Trinidad's 2010 "Road March" winning single "Palance,"

 is interviewed by Extra's AJ Calloway at the Carlton Savannah.

R&B songstress Mýa

Malik Yoba

Tyson Beckford poses in the elevator at the Carlton Savannah's rooftop 

NEW YORK (March 22, 2010) - Trinidad and Tobago is generating strong exposure in the American celebrity community and mainstream consumer market following Caribbean entertainment brand Antilia's successful promotion of its "2010 Carnival Experience VIP travel packages" to the twin-island nation last month.

Antilia's CEO, Simon Khan reports that the campaign was a tremendous success: Trinidad and Tobago received top class exposure and accolades from the visitors and celebrities who Antilia welcomed to the island for the season, including supermodel/actor Tyson Beckford, NAACP Image Award-winning actor Malik Yoba, and Grammy winning R&B songstress Mýa.

In addition to playing host to dozens of visitors who took advantage of Antilia's travel packages to one of the greatest cultural celebrations on earth, Antilia also invited the popular daily syndicated entertainment magazine program, Extra, representing one of the largest television media establishments ever to participate in Trinidad Carnival.

During Extra's visit, host AJ Calloway also covered the Beyoncé concert, teaching the R&;B superstar how to "Palance" (a Trinidad Carnival Dance), a memorable addition to her show which sent the crowd into a frenzy, and which was also highlighted in the program.

Extra also filmed Antilia's star-studded, invitation only Ash Wednesday "SUNSET" event at the Carlton Savannah's "Wow Suite", where Queen Elizabeth of England stayed during her visit to Trinidad last November. Upon his return to New York, Calloway publicly thanked Antilia for hosting Extra's visit to Carnival in front of millions of viewers. The February 26 and 27 airings of the show were carried on WNBC in New York among numerous other stations around the country.

Antilia welcomed many more taste-makers and notables, including acclaimed celebrity photographer Jonathan Mannion (who has worked alongside Jay-Z, Eminem, Notorious B.I.G., Lance Armstrong and David Beckham); Beyoncé's choreographer Zach Simmons; celebrity stylist Theo Faulkner; runner-up on Bravo's Make Me a Super Model Sandhurst Tacama-Miggins; NFL stars Edgerrin James and Clinton Portis; top New York radio personality Dahved Levy; and Travelista TV which is running eight webisodes about Antilia's "Carnival Experience."

Antilia offered special six-night packages, representing incredible value and convenience, including 4-Star luxury accommodation at the Hyatt Regency and Carlton Savannah hotels; VIP party tickets; airport transfers; chauffeur/ driver services; 24-hour concierge service, a costume and all-inclusive experience with top all-inclusive Carnival bands; and in-room costume fitting and tailoring.

"We're very pleased to have successfully introduced celebrities, media personalities and movers and shakers within the entertainment world to Trinidad and Tobago, and look forward to doing more of the same across the Caribbean to promote sustainable tourism development and awareness of the region's unique attributes," remarked Simon Khan.

The entertainment brand is currently planning a series of VIP initiatives both in the Caribbean and North America which will similarly integrate star power and international media participation with Caribbean fashion, music and travel. Visit www.antilia.com for further details.

Skullduggery...Sections

If you have been paying attention to all the hype that is building around the new band  Skullduggery, set to take the stage in Carnival 2011, one thing seems obvious and that is this band has lots of people eagerly awaiting every little bit of information.

 Follow their Facebook Group and you swear the Minshallites have arisen from a slumber to leave the BBBF behind (thats bikini,beads, braids and feathers to you all!). 

Lots of promises have been made  that "something wicked" is coming your way from Skullduggery and I for one cannot wait to see it. I also want to see what this means for Mc Farlane; more than ONE band doing "real marse"? Competition, at last! 

Skullduggery has teasingly been releasing information on their sections via their Facebook Group, here are the two revealed so far. I am absolutely loving section number two is, they should have this blog as a definition under "Bacchanal Woman"!

Costume and Photography Copyright

There is a very interesting article in the New York Times online about a group of Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans who are calling for copyright of their costumes (which look just as elaborate as traditional Indian Mas in Trinidad) and compensation when their photographs are used in advertisements.

NEW ORLEANS — Just after dusk on Friday night, Tyrone Yancy was strutting through one of the more uncertain parts of town in a $6,000 custom-made suit.

He was concerned about being robbed, but not by the neighborhood teenagers who trotted out in the street to join him. The real potential for theft, as Mr. Yancy sees it, came from the strangers darting around him and his well-appointed colleagues in a hectic orbit: photographers.

Mr. Yancy, 44, is a nursing assistant by profession. His calling, however, is as one of the Mardi Gras Indians — a member of the Yellow Pocahontas tribe, to be exact — the largely working-class black New Orleanians who create and wear ornate, enormous feathered costumes and come out three times a year to show them off.

He is also one of a number of Indians who have become fed up with seeing their photographs on calendars, posters and expensive prints, without getting anything in return.

Knowing that there are few legal protections for a person who is photographed in public — particularly one who stops and poses every few feet — some Mardi Gras Indians have begun filing for copyright protection for their suits, which account for thousands of dollars in glass beads, rhinestones, feathers and velvet, and hundreds of hours of late-night sewing.

It is interesting to note that there is currently no copyright claim on clothing as they are "functional, not aesthetic" , however lawyers for the Indians are arguing that the costumes are "sculptures" and thus they can be covered under copyright laws. Should elaborate costumes fall under the "non functional" banner and be copyrighted? And if the Indians are successful in this bid to have costumes copyrighted what does that mean for other Carnivals, like Trinidad? In that case, who owns the costume and what would that mean if a masquerader chooses to modify the costume after they collect it? Will be forced to wear the costume "as is" with no changes because it is copyrighted?

I find the topic very interesting because many of us are photographed on the road for Carnival ( be it in Trinidad, Barbados, St Lucia, New York or Miami ) in our costumes;  we pose for the photographers but do we ever stop to think where our image may actually end up ? What happens if your photograph appears on a flyer advertising a fete or event in another country? Or do you even care?

Should you have the ability to ask for your image not to be used, compensated for use of your image or does the photograph of you now become a possession of the photographer?

Not to mention some of these invitations feature professional pictures taken from Carnival Band websites:

Should the models and photographers in that case ask for their image not to be used in advertising, brochures or calenders? Who has copy right over that particular photo? Is it the model as she was paid to advertise the costume for a particular band or the photographer who took the photo of the model wearing the costume for the particular band or does the band own the photograph as the job was done to advertise their costumes?

The tricky part, I think, is determining who actually has the rights to use a photograph of you the masquerader for profit , not withstanding the cost incurred for your costume, and if you are not happy about it what recourse do you have? Thoughts?

Glenn Carvalho "Valley of the Nile"

click to enlarge

Costume Trends 2011

Being the so called "non expert", "non designer" when it comes to mas I am going to have to fall back on my own trumped up sense of self importance, never mind my years of experience as a masquerader and knowing what I DO like in pretty bikini mas, to throw out some ideas and suggestions for Carnival 2011.

Stick to Theme
You would think the logical, common sense to costume design would be you design the costume around the bands' proposed theme right? Wrong! One can clearly see from 90% of the bands out there that the costume design comes first and THEN it is fit to the theme. So what ends up happening is that you have a generic costume that can fit any band, and costumes have switched places from one band to the next without even one change in a design element, which to me defeats the whole purpose of having a theme in the first place. Got to hand it to Island People here, Enchanted Forest LOOKED like an enchanted forest, Sahara, LOOKED like the desert, Animal Instinct LOOKED like actual animals and of course Kutchela stuck to the Indian theme .. they may have fallen a bit with Heaven on Earth but generally this is one band, bikini and beads that is, where you can expect to see the theme reflected in costume design. So, if your theme is Warriors for 2011, bet your bottom dollar I want to see WARRIOR costumes even for the men ( they are looking forward to swords for some reason!)

The Back Pack is Back
As I was over tails and collars for Carnival 2010 I am now calling for a rest on any super large Loulanesque  headpiece (expect to see this mimicked in all the Carnivals for the rest of the year!). I think the backpack should make a  huge return for Carnival 2011 . I also like the idea of merging both the back pack and headpiece to create the illusion of one large headpiece  for those who still want the big headpiece or a  backpack with a very small headpiece. Retire the large headpiece AND large backpack for 2011, I saw way too many frontliners in Mulberry having a horrid time having to juggle both.

Bling Has Faded

Bling is all blinged out! It looks great in prototypes to have all that sparkle, but when the actual thing is switched out for acrylic rhinestones NOT the same effect. Not to mention that the said same bling is responsible for many a snagged stocking and you have to use too much, and too much expense, of the bling to create any real effect. It is an expensive decorative item that does not give you much design for the money.Bring back some BEADING! I loved the beading on Threads of Morocco Bra.

Death By Appliqué

And while we are on the  topic of beading, the next design element I would really love to see die a quick death is that ONE huge appliqué stuck on a belt or bra.In fact appliqués are so OLD school; I am just looking for more creativity for 2011, more designers to do something a little different. Hey it is hard work having to design bikini mas no matter what the critics say! You try changing up a bra and belt every single year! However I have seen it done, look at Island People for instance, and I think there are a crop of new young designers such as Solange Shaw Gopaul, Sandra Hordatt and Crystal Amming who are thinking outside the bikini and beads box. More designers should follow their lead.

Use The Colour Wheel
I would really love to see designers use more than one or two colours (one being a metallic) in costumes.After a while it does get repetitive doing the same blue and gold/silver, red and gold/silver, green and gold/silver.. you get the point. And I do know mixing colours can be tricky, wrong combinations and it looks tacky, however it would be nice to see a costume with a mix of several colours instead of just ONE colour.

Let the Feathers Fly
Feathers would always be my weakness, however using feathers just for using feathers sake is also out. With some of the themes that bands are portraying for Carnival 2011 feathers just does not fit the theme. How about headpieces and back packs using structural elements (see Lady Gaga) as well as some alternate materials for feathers; again, think outside the box!

Mourn the Monokini
Ok, I loved the idea of the monokini when it first came on the scene because it offered an alternative to the standard bra and belt. But when you had a band doing every single section with a monokini you know it has become way, way too popular! I am all for a new designs for ladies who want sexy coverage, and I do like the corset idea (in some cases fits better than a monokini) but can we now add to the options costumes that work more like couture clothing? Here is an idea for example, exaggerated jewelry pieces worn as an actual costume element; something worn OVER the bra perhaps? What about pants? Sheer, nude, jeweled pants! If I give any more ideas I would have to start charging, but hopefully you can wrap your mind around the idea of a costume that is NOT just a bra with a belt.

To sum it up for Carnival 2011 I am expecting costumes that go beyond the formula of "catalogue costuming" that you can see that in any random Carnival outside of Trinidad and Tobago now;Bra and Belt from China and Headpiece from Juan Pablo in Miami.We are the pioneers and leaders in mas design, especially when it comes to BIKINI mas; Trinidad is admittedly pretty stellar in that department. So, time to give those other Carnivals something new to copy, you know, the ones that use TRINIDAD costumes to advertise their own local Carnival (I could never grasp the logic of that one) and give jaded masqueraders like me a REASON to play mas for Carnival 2011. I am waiting until I see actual costumes to decides who gets my money next year, if ANY!

Can band launching season hurry up and come! Bring on the costumes!

Ahead Of The Pack...

You would think that with Carnival 2011 being held  in March that the frenzy of a hectic band launch season would start later than the July band launchings we have become accustomed to over the past few years. Well, think again!

I have been reliably informed that TRIBE is way ahead of the game with most designers either finished with or finishing prototypes for what I was told would be a very early costume viewing/critique.Probably gives them more time to tweak and adjust a costumes head of the July band launch, as opposed to finishing actual costumes AFTER the launch, I am just saying!

And, the band all are looking forward to for "real marse" Skullduggery is already boasting that their prototypes are completed and they are looking for masqueraders interested in playing Section Leader, Individual or just being "extra special"; if you are check out their Facebook Page.

D Krewe, under the hand of a new production manager and designer, has long returned from a material hunt in New York for their Carnival 2011 presentation and I know for sure that Spice is soon to make that journey   now that they have a new theme! Interesting is that this year the design duo of Spice will NOT be on this little jaunt to source materials; I am not sure how your  star designers get left behind when looking for the actual materials to design the band...hmm, "new" designer perhaps or trouble in a Spicy paradise?