THE RETURN OF SAINT LUCIA CARNIVAL - 2022 Review
Introduction
As a Saint Lucian, I was very excited to hear that carnival would be happening this year, after a pandemic and two long years of no carnival. I was excited to get back into going from fete to fete, running on little sleep, and being on the road in a beautiful costume. This carnival was a good one, but not a great one. For Saint Lucia Carnival first timers, they might have had a blast this year. For Saint Lucians, it was not our best carnival. We are used to it being much better. I do not regret participating this year, however I want to express some things that transpired this year that I hope can be fixed for next year.
Events
Let me start with the events!
This carnival there were many new events along with the original events. Sad to say, some of the original events that are normally really good were not so good this year. They were way too crowded! You could not move left or right, much less have enough space to dance. I’m not sure how promoters expect patrons to enjoy themselves if they cannot even move.
Another disappointment was the Dj lineups for some of these events. Some of the events had way too many foreign Djs on the lineup. Now to my knowledge, people were coming to Saint Lucia for the “Dennery Segment” and for a Saint Lucian Experience, myself included. I did not leave the states to fly all the way to Saint Lucia to have the same experience from the states. What I used to love about returning home for carnival each summer was the authenticity and uniqueness that I could not get in the states. Saint Lucia has enough Djs and talent, and I believe the promoters tried way too hard to please the outsiders not knowing they actually love our music and wanted to hear it more.
While I will not name the dissatisfying events, I will like to shed light on some of the truly amazing and enjoyable events. Verve Saint Lucia’s “Soak’t N Colour” is number 1 on my fete list. It was the perfect jouvert event including powder, water, and wildness! Deeper Than Soca’s “Transcend: Moonlight Mas” was a great carnival warm up by having a truck on the road with a nice glow in the dark touch. Coming in at number 3 on my list is Just 4 Fun’s “Indulgence Breakfast Fete” with its endless food and drinks, fast bar service, and beautiful ambience. Everyone was just dressed up really nicely, but were they stush? NO THEY WERE NOT! Everyone was being free and enjoying themselves. Although those are my top 3, there are a couple of honorable mentions. Verve Saint Lucia’s “Aura” was good. Hollywood Hp’s food inclusive “Saka Fete” was also good, for the last hour that I caught. Despite me catching the last hour of it, I was still able to get food which is a plus since they did not run out.
Please keep in mind that my review is based on events that I actually attended. I did not attend every single event for the season, so I'm sure there must have been other good ones as well.
The Road
My favorite part of carnival is the road!
With the approval for carnival this year and the original mega j to mega j route, I did not anticipate so many restrictions. Now everybody knows, the trademark for Saint Lucia Carnival is the famous “bum bum wall”. Officials did not let us go on the bum bum wall on Carnival Monday. Carnival Tuesday they allowed us on the bum bum wall for a short period of time. Word from masqueraders, from other bands, said that they were allowed to go on the bum bum wall. This makes me wonder if maybe the officials just have it out for my band specifically.
Also, the route in town was cut short and music was stopped at 6pm. Not to mention, the trucks were moving super fast. The carnival felt rushed.
That being said, we still made the best of carnival. The costumes were beautiful on the road, and the music on the road was better than the music in the fetes, in my opinion.
Congratulations to Xuvo carnival band for coming in 1st place for section of the year, with “Arcane”, and Just 4 Fun for coming in 2nd place with “Avant Garde”. Also, big congratulations to the bands of the year: Just 4 Fun in 1st place and Xuvo in 2nd place.
Closing
I knew this carnival would be a bit different with how popular it has gotten and with the exposure and involvement of influencers. However, I fear Saint Lucia Carnival will lose its authenticity. I do hope that it continues to grow, but grows while still being authentically Saint Lucian.