All the Fetes

Odler · #1 03-01-04, 08:00 AM

(February 24, 2004)

While carnaval in Bahia is a large STREET PARTY that lasts seven days,

carnaval in Trinidad is mainly made of concerts, designated as tents and

fetes. The street parade is on only for two days.

The days and the weeks before the official days, there are one, two, three

fetes every nigth. The Expedition has attended half of the traditional

ones.

The best one by far has been Insomnia: the manic party that starts at

midnight and ends at 10 a.m., under a forced shower by hosing.

Girl Power, a very trendy event, came on on Friday night. It is such a

popular venue that tickets were sold out within hours of their release on

the market, a week earlier. We had to go through scalpers to find a spot

at up to $100. At the end, the consensus was that the event was

overblown.

UWI Splash and Brian Lara's Fete were enjoyable experiences.

We missed the Soca Monarch competition and a few other often-talked about

events. Obviously we could not make it to all, since they are often

simultaneous.

The key to perfect carnaval planning is to obtain a list of all the events

well ahead of time. Make your choice, and don't hesitate to pay for them

well in advance. As early as in December.

But, if you miss one or two, don't feel desperate: all the pre-carnival

fetes feature the same calypsonians and soca players. Basically.

Then you can always catch up with them in the streets, while playing mas

(for mask), on carnaval Tuesday.

(The Traveller, Carnaval Tuesday, February 24, 2004.)