THE RETURN OF TRINIDAD CARNIVAL - 2023 Review

INTRODUCTION

CARNIVAL COME BACK HOME! The mecca of all carnivals finally returned this year and I couldn’t have been more excited. I had a feeling it was going to be a good one and that it was! 

EVENTS

Trinidad is known for having many overlapping events during the carnival week, so persons must pick and choose wisely. The events that I choose to attend were:

TRIBE Ignite - This was a first for me. I have never been to Tribe Ignite in Trinidad. There were lots of artists posted for this event, so I expected it to be a concert type of event. I am not a huge fan of concerts, but this one had vibes. It was also drinks inclusive, so that was a plus. However, I think I'll pass on this event next carnival. It wasn’t lit to the point where I feel like I have to go and it shouldn’t be missed.

Silent Morning - This boat ride is always vibes on any island, so I knew that I wouldn’t be disappointed. The food was delicious and the rum punch shots were really good. The music was a perfect blend of soca from different islands, so it wasn’t just trini soca being played.

Am Bush - My favorite event of all time! I LOVE jouvert, so of course I had a blast. Now the process of getting tickets to this event was not so great. Thankfully, Caesar's Army had great customer service and all issues were resolved. As I entered the event, breakfast was being served. There were porta potty trucks available as well. Trucks started moving at about 5:30am. The jump up went until about 8-9am. There was paint, water, and foam as we jumped up. This was also the only event that had my favorite Trini drink, Punchy Punch! At the end of the event, breakfast was served again with different options. Perfect way to end the jump up.

Soca Brainwash - Everyone’s favorite all inclusive themed event. This event had an abundance of food stations and bars. There were so many options that I didn’t even know what to choose. The service and lines were fast, so that's a plus. The ambiance and decor was absolutely stunning and creative. Also, I love a great event cup to leave with as a souvenir. The cup that I got from this soca brainwash might just be my favorite. It was in the shape of an ice cream cone. The music could’ve been better. The Dj lineup was great, but the DJs didn’t play their best. They were not building off of each other. It was just too repetitive. Dj Private Ryan, Kevin Crown, and Riggo had the best set because when they came on, they finally switched up the playlist and woke the place up a bit. 

Sunny Side Up - This was probably my favorite non jouvert event. Firstly, there were 2 types of tickets. There was a penthouse ticket which was all inclusive. It included a variety of food options such as waffles, pancakes, chinese food, doubles, … etc. There were 2 fully stocked bars and also mini bars with specialty drinks such as rum punch. You also got a sunny side up cup. The penthouse ticket also had a separate entrance and section, but also allowed you to go into the general area. The cooler ticket allowed you to bring your own cooler and drinks. This event also had artists, but it was not too many. The performances were short and sweet. There were also sprinklers and foam for people to cool down when it became too hot. Just when I thought the event ended, the mc made an announcement saying that we’re going on the road and we need to meet the truck outside of the venue. This caught me by surprise and I was so happy. I met the trucks outside and as we started to chip behind the truck, rain started to fall. It was a beautiful moment, and fun. No regrets with this fete. 

Post Carnival Relief - This event took place two days after carnival at the Hilton poolside. This was also another Private Ryan event. Just like soca brainwash, the food was impeccable. There was buss up, doubles, rice and peas, jerk chicken, pineapple chow, burgers, … etc. There was also a sponsored angostura bar where the drinks were FREE, so if you didn’t want to spend money at the bar for other drinks you could’ve gone to the angostura bar. The vibes took awhile to build because the sun was hot. When the sun started to go down, the vibes started to pick up. However, I was not a fan of the music choice for this event. It was a lot of old school hip hop, pop, and even rock. For a carnival cool down, it was a bit disappointing that there wasn't enough soca. The event also ended at about 8, which was also disappointing because the vibes was just picking up and I hadn’t heard enough soca. 

THE ROAD

My favorite part of carnival is the road!

Just when I thought nothing could not get any better than AM Bush, there was JOUVERT JUMBEEZ. I had the time of my life jouvert morning. It was endless paint and endless vibes. The stage was the best part with water blasting and “Hard Fete” on repeat! 

Carnival Monday with Yuma was also fun. It was definitely better than carnival Tuesday. There were no backpacks and people were more free up on monday. Carnival Tuesday was too laidback for me and the backpacks were stressful because there wasn't enough space for them. Also, there was a lot of wasted time both carnival days with the lunch stops and having to find the trucks again. On Tuesday, it took forever to cross the stage. It was just a lot of waiting around.

Trini soca is also a bit too slow paced for me. It felt like I spent the entire carnival just chipping and singing-along instead of jumping up, climbing, behaving wotless, … etc. But, big up truck #7 though! By Far Mega, Ricky Platinum, Ovadose, Selectah Kerry, Quest, Rock Steady, Major Penny, and Elon were the djs on this truck and it was the most crowded truck. This was the truck with the most pace and vibes, and the truck that played some of the other island soca. 

COSTUME

I chose to play mas with yuma vibe because I heard that this was the band with the most vibes. The road experience was good, but the costume distribution was very disorganized. Firstly, I chose an individual costume because I absolutely loved the bodywear. This cost me close to $1500 usd. Paying this much for a costume, I expected top tier service or some sort of vip service, extra goodies, SOMETHING EXTRA. This was not the case. Instead, I spent about 3-4 hours at distribution, waiting in lines, causing me to miss a fete that I paid over $100 usd for. Not to mention, there were no bathrooms or refreshments for customers. When I finally got to the costume collection desk, my costume and my boyfriend’s costume were nowhere to be found. After waiting even longer, we eventually got our costumes, but they had the nerve to tell me that I have to return on Sunday to pick up the backpack because backpacks for the section weren’t ready. In addition to this, I did not get all of the correct pieces to my costume. Yuma’s distribution was an absolute mess. 

CLOSING

Overall, I had a fun and good experience at Trinidad Carnival. With my time spent there, I had the most fun at AM Bush, Sunny Side Up, and with Jouvert Jumbeez. I also preferred carnival monday over carnival tuesday. For my next Trini carnival, I am not sure if I will play with Yuma again because I am so turned off by their distribution and customer service. However, I am also afraid to try another band because I heard some of the other bands are stush. Therefore, I am indecisive. One thing I know for sure is that I will not be getting a backpack again or at least not a big one.